Happiness Comes in Two
by xOffToThePensieveWeGox
Summary: SSA Ally Jordan works for the FBI's Cyber Division and is frequently called upon for help by the BAU. She becomes an integrated part of their family, with them through their ups and downs, suffering as they do and happy as they are but she forms an even deeper connection with a certain Dr. Spencer Reid; one that would benefit them both in the end. Reid/OC
1. Chapter 1

**So, this is quite obviously going to be a Criminal Minds story about Spencer Reid and my OC. I'm a fan of Greek names myself and subsequently have chosen one as my main character's first name. Oh well. And yes, her last name is in fact an allusion to the amazing super hero, the Green Lantern.**

**Anyways, this first chapter is really just a set up chapter for the main character. The story's most probably going to move slightly slowly in the progression of the relationship between Spencer and Alastrina but that's really how I want it to go.**

**Disclaimer: Criminal Minds belongs to The Mark Gordon Company, ABC Studios, and CBS Television Studios. I only own my OC and my plot.**

**Episode featured in this chapter: 5x13 "Risky Business"**

* * *

January 20, 2010

Alastrina rushed to the BAU's bullpen having arrived five minutes after she was expected to be there. She didn't bother to look at the desks scattered around and speed walked towards Aaron Hotchner's office. Knocking on the door, she proceeded in after she heard his okay to come in.

"You wanted to see me sir?" She asked from the doorway.

"Yes, please take a seat." He gestured to the seat in front of him. "I take it that you received some information over at Cyber Division."

"Just the bare minimum sir, nothing extensive." Her hand drifted to her bracelet to start tinkering with it.

"Here're the case files, read them, you're coming on the case with us." Taking that as her cue to leave, she gathered the files and walked towards the door, before she opened it though she paused to look back over at Hotch.

"Sir, I know I might be out of line to tell you this but it's okay to miss her. If you didn't, I'd be worried." Smiling slightly in his direction, she walked out of the office and started to round the bullpen towards Penelope Garcia's office when she heard her name. Turning around, she grinned broadly at the oncoming agent.

"What are you doing here Miss Thing?" SSA Derek Morgan called out, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

"What? I can't come by to say 'hey' to my friends?" He caught the sarcastic tone in her voice and smirked slightly.

"You have friends… since when?" He chuckled to himself but continued on. "Seriously though, what are you doing here?"

"I've been called in for the case and before you ask, no I don't know why. Now, seeing as how Rossi just walked in and I'd much rather not go through another lecture of how my spaghetti sauce needs more oregano I'm going to flee to Garcia. See ya Morgan." She blurted out quickly before turning and practically running into "the Batcave". Chuckling again, Derek walked back to his desk where he met Rossi.

"Was that Jordan?" At Derek's affirmative, he continued on, "She still has yet to take my advice about her spaghetti sauce, since when has oregano ever done anyone harm? She'll regret it one day." Satisfied with what he said, Rossi walked over to make himself a cup of coffee, still muttering about oregano and paying no mind to the amused look Emily and Derek shared.

* * *

"Sir, it's not that I'm not glad to be coming with you because I am, I just don't understand why." Penelope stammered out.

"One of the aspects of an equivocal death investigation when suicide is a probability is an indirect personality assessment. Our victims are all internet generation kids; there should be some valuable personal information on their computers that would aid the investigation." Hotch responded.

"If they committed suicide, evidence would be in their cyber world." Morgan added.

"So I'm going to snoop through dead kids' computers." Penelope stared at Morgan with wide eyes.

"You and Jordan." Reid amended from across Alastrina who rolled her eyes at him.

"This plane seldom makes pleasure trips." Rossi told Penelope.

"We've all been over the case, let's talk about victimology." It would have been an understood change of subject but Alastrina would've bet money on him attempting to shift the conversation just to make Penelope feel better. While the rest of the team talked about the victims, she re-read the case files trying to come up with any websites that the four kids probably visited.

"But the most common don't exist here," everyone including Alastrina looked up at JJ, "there's no prior attempts, no period of deep depression, no withdrawal from family members, no spontaneous proclamations of love."

"'Spontaneous proclamations of love'?" Prentiss echoed.

"Sometimes a suicidal person in the days leading up to the act will just blurt out 'I love you' to family, sort of like a goodbye." JJ glanced down while Reid and Alastrina exchanged a look.

* * *

"I never did like Wyoming, far too square in my opinion." Alastrina whispered to Penelope in an attempt to cheer her up a little bit. Garcia's lips twitched but that still wasn't enough.

"Actually, Wyoming isn't really a square the length of the borders are…" But before Reid got a chance to finish his sentence he was elbowed in the side. "Ally, what was that for?" The woman in question just rolled her eyes before giving him a playful nudge. They all sobered up as the car pulled into the lot. The sheriff informed the team about a reporter that was making paper out of trees and Reid told her about the dangers of sensationalizing the suicides.

"Where can we set up?" Alastrina stepped forward a bit, gesturing between her and Garcia.

"We don't have much of a command center." The sheriff informed them with a sheepish smile.

"Fret not, we have our own command center, we just need your juice." Garcia cut in with a reassuring smile and followed the sheriff to the area that was designated for them. The two began setting up the computers as Rossi put up the evidence board. Emily, Hotch, JJ, Morgan, and Reid had all gone to interview the victims' families. "Hey Ally, what do you guys do in the Cyber Division?" Rossi turned around to listen in as well.

"Well we for the most part look into white-collar crime, organized crime, and violent crime though we do have to branch out occasionally and look into public corruption and financial crime. Our biggest fish though, is any cyber crime related to counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and criminal threats. It's basically like we're all super agents in a spy movie." Ally responded while opening the necessary programs on her computer. Rossi walked over to stand next to the two while watching them set up.

"Now, Jordan, how about that spaghetti sauce?" Alastrina groaned and swatted at Rossi to move over. "What? Do you not like my advice?"

"It's more like badgering." She shot back. Rolling his eyes, he turned to Garcia for some help.

"Don't look at me pops, I don't know the first thing about cooking." Garcia laughed at the face he made. Emily, JJ, and Hotch walked in not too long after with Trish Leake's computer. Emily handed it to Garcia and stood to the side of Alastrina, smiling down at the younger woman. When Garcia couldn't find anything on the directories, she let Ally do some of the work proud that her part time "protégé" could keep up.

"I thought you said it was empty?" Emily questioned as she watched Ally work.

"Not empty, just appears to be." Garcia responded with a cheeky grin, taking back the computer once Alastrina got the information open. "A basic Trojan Horse, hides the information but doesn't clean the directories. Oh my god. She was on a Choking Game website."

"A what?" Rossi asked incredulously.

"It's a game some kids play to get high." Ally responded, staring at the screen with mild disgust.

"They call it the 'good kid's high', you get light-headed and a sense of euphoria even though no actual drugs are involved. Something the kids in high school play." Reid added.

"Did Ryan have a computer?" Hotch asked.

"None in his room." Morgan replied, arms crossed.

"What about a gaming system?" Garcia asked looking up at the man.

"Here's the IP address." Reid unfolded a piece of paper and laid it out in front of the two women. Garcia typed it in as fast as she could while Ally moved over to her personal computer, opening it up to the website.

"Bingo, Ryan was on the same site on the same night."

"It wasn't suicide." Morgan stated, Ally caught the slightly relieved look on JJ's face but decided to stay quiet.

"Garcia, click the text-to-voice icon." Ally called out, sliding her chair back over to Garcia.

_"Come on, try it, we all do. I dare you." _The robotic voice called out.

"I dare you?" Sheriff Samuel calls out with a sneer on her face.

"Someone was orchestrating this, purposely getting the kids to choke themselves." Prentiss hunched over slightly.

"And that someone is Darksoul634." Ally muttered, glaring at the screen.

"There's a whole subculture around this game, they make names for it, play it at parties." Garcia informed the team.

"But someone's daring these kids in this area to play the game." Rossi commented.

"It's a competition." Ally could feel her anger and disgust raising the more and more she found the information.

"And there're rules. 'Come on Evans High, this is the big one. Garfield edged out Casper High last week, you gonna let them diss us?'" Garcia read off the screen.

"'Diss' sounds like a kid." Emily reasoned.

"Yeah, who else would pit schools against each other?" Hotch commented.

"Reckless teenage competition." Rossi looked around the group.

'"Gotta do it alone, record it on a webcam, and upload it to the site for it to count."' Garcia continued.

"Garcia shut the site down." Hotch commanded.

"Sir, I don't think we should do that, this is our only connection to the UnSub, without it we won't be able to track them down. If we cut into the feed now, he'll know that we're on to him and shut down the site only to bring it up with a simply change in code and in a more covert fashion. Besides, there's no telling how many servers are already connected to it." Ally cut in trying to make sense while also trying to bury her guilt.

"You're right, we're ready to give the profile." He directed the second part of the statement to Sheriff Samuels.

* * *

"My god, this guy's a genius; his protection is off the wall. Have you ever seen anything like this?" Garcia asked as Ally came to sit beside her, nursing a cup of coffee.

"Not from a kid, no. This is ridiculously sophisticated, how'd he get it?" She mused aloud trying to make sense of it in her head. The two look up when they hear a door close only to see Reid and Morgan walk out.

"Hope you've got a Plan B." Morgan called out to Hotch before following Reid. Thinking quickly, Hotch looked over at Garcia when a plan formed in his head.

"Garcia, I want you to go talk to him, he has a better chance connecting with you then with anyone else."

"But sir, I've never done anything like this before and what about the computer?" Garcia turned her frantic eyes to her boss.

"You'll be fine and Agent Jordan can take over while you're gone." Garcia looked over to the woman sitting beside her only to receive a smile and a thumbs-up. Sighing, she got up and walked over to the room.

"Do you think you can get it?" Reid asked as he walked over.

"Without a hint, probably not before something goes horribly wrong." Nodding, Reid slid into the chair next to her and handing over a granola bar. Time passed and Ally couldn't get anywhere in her attempts to hack the system. Reid had long since gone over to the evidence board and now the only one still by her side was JJ. Glancing over, she noticed the necklace JJ was wearing, slightly curious, as she hadn't seen it before. "Nice necklace."

Startled out of her thoughts, it took a minute for JJ to respond but when she did, it was only a quiet 'thank you'. Silence fell over the two again when JJ decided to speak again.

"My sister gave it to me when I was 11."

"That's sweet; the only thing my brother ever gave me was his dirty socks." She pulled a face causing JJ to chuckle slightly.

"His first name was William right?" JJ questioned, though she knew the answer.

"An unfortunate coincidence." Ally didn't hesitate in her response.

"You talk about him like he's still here." JJ observed, slightly surprised by her bluntness but was put at ease by Ally laughing lightly.

"Doesn't do me any good to act differently now that he's gone, he's always going to be my older brother and there's not a thing in this world that I'd be willing to do to change that." JJ smiled again at that, she had known Henry Jordan for less time than she had known Alastrina but they had still become good friends. The resemblance between the two siblings was uncanny; they both had the same dark hair and hazel eyes, the same nose, and the same ears. They even talked like each other at times, but that's what made everything fun. It was a four-year age difference and it was easy to tell, while Henry stood at a towering height of 6'2" Ally reached a self-proclaimed height of 5'4.5". The two had one of the best relationships she's seen among siblings but unfortunately Henry passed away two years ago in a car accident.

JJ was pulled out of her musings when Christopher's father came barging in, demanding that his son be let go of and that he wanted a lawyer. Hotch nodded and led the way to the interview room. Garcia came out of the interview room looking slightly out of it. Ally moved out of the way to let her slide into her chair and begin working again. More kids started to post up videos and the search for a way into Christopher's computer got more and more frantic.

"Catchman is the whole county so about 2,000 kids go to the school." Reid said in response to JJ's question, "Garcia, we really need to gain administrative access to this website. I've written down a number of things Christopher may have used as his password, I've already eliminated birthdays, holidays, pet names, and pop culture icons."

"No, there was something," she hesitated, "pathetic about him, not criminal. When he was leaving he said he misses his mom. What's his mom's name?"

"Cynthia Summers." Garcia quickly typed the name into the computer and was relieved when she got access to everything.

"Log in as an administrator and shut down the main source." Reid advised.

"Already on it my friend." She sighed deeply, "Kids are still posting up videos through independent servers."

"Pull up the website history; see if you can find anything through historical posts." Reid advised again.

"Wait, look at this." Ally spoke up. "It's the same handle but different writing styles."

"A writer can disguise his own writing style to make himself seem younger or uneducated."

"But it's nearly impossible to make yourself seem older or more educated than you actually are." Ally finished for him.

"One writing style of a teenager, one writing style of an adult, one handle. Christopher was being manipulated by someone older." Reid announced just in time for Hotch, Emily, and Rossi to hear.

The team quickly deduced everything that had happened in Christopher's life. From the slow poisoning of his mother to his father choking and resuscitating him, the majority of the team left to go find the two at their house leaving behind JJ, Garcia, and Ally. When the team got there, however, there was no sign of either Summers in the house. It didn't take them long to figure out that Christopher was looking to suicide as his only way out, but where? Where would his father take him and that's when it all clicked in her head.

"The mother." She stated, continuing at the confused looks sent towards her "Everything thus far has been about the mother, so where else to go other than where she was buried?"

"For Christopher a cemetery would be a place of refuge, but for the father…" Morgan called out over the phone.

"He's revisiting a body disposal site." Hotch finished for him.

"Oaklawn Cemetery, halfway between here and Glenrock." Garcia shouted out.

"The father would still need electricity though." Ally was trying to work it all out in her head, but where would he go if not the cemetery?

"There's a chapel. They use it for burials." Sheriff Samuels offered.

"Let's go." The team immediately left for the cemetery, hoping to catch Mr. Summers before he killed Christopher. The trio at the police station waited for what seemed like an eternity but finally they got a hit.

"Sir, Mr. Summers logged onto the phishing site." Garcia told Hotch when he answered his phone.

"Is he downloading the videos?"

"He's trying to, but all he's going to get is snow." The line was disconnected and they all hoped everything would be alright. Once they got the green light from Hotch, JJ left to the cemetery and the two technical analysts were left to pack everything up.

"Do you ever think about joining the BAU? I know you have your training to be a profiler."

"Sometimes I think about it, I mean you guys are practically family but I don't think I could benefit you guys at all. I mean, you guys work together so seamlessly and I'm just there." Alastrina was being completely honest Penelope, she loves the BAU, she truly does but she doesn't belong there.

"But you've worked so many cases with us, I mean, would Hotch call you here if he didn't think you'd work for the team?" Garcia paused in her actions to stare incredulously at Alastrina.

"Look, Pen…"

"Nuh-uh Super Girl, don't you dare go pulling any crap about how you're not good enough for the team. We love you, you love us. We're made for each other."

"Penny, there's something you need to know." Alastrina tried again.

"I mean come on! You're best friends with everyone here! Rossi even lets you into his kitchen! His _kitchen_ for Pete's sake!" She continued, completely ignoring what the other woman was saying.

"Penelope!" Finally getting her attention, she continued. "I'm going to be leaving the country in a couple of months for a job."

"…What?"

"I'm leaving early April, I probably won't be back until August."

"So you're just leaving?"

"No, it's part of an operation that we're doing. I promise I'll explain everything after I get back."

"But that's months from now! What if you don't make it?"

"I promise you I'll make it, it's nothing to worry about, just a slight sting operation."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Just Hotch, you have to swear you won't tell anyone."

"But what if when you're gone…"

"Cross your heart."

"Fine." Garcia gave in, hoping she would see her friend again.

* * *

Alastrina was currently in the onboard kitchenette watching JJ make coffee and listening to Prentiss tell her story to Reid.

"There was this young prince who wanted to win the heart of the fairest maiden in the land so he climbed to the top of the tallest tower in the kingdom and he caught a falling star for her, unfortunately he was so excited that he dropped it and it smashed into all of these pieces, so he frantically put it back together again to prove his undying love for her and he succeeded and they lived happily ever after."

"That doesn't make any sense." Reid scrunched his face in thought.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked through narrowed eyes.

"You can't catch a falling star; it would burn up in the atmosphere." Alastrina chuckled a bit at that.

"Yeah, but it's not literal Reid, it's just a fable."

"But there's no moral, uh fable's have morals."

"Okay, so it's just a romantic little story, the point is it's basically impossible to do because you have to take all of those pieces and fit them together exactly…" she trailed off once Reid put the completed puzzle on the table in front of him. "There's a lot to hate about you Dr. Reid." Morgan laughed at that.

"Play poker with him sometime." Rossi suggested sarcastically.

"Try playing chess with him." Morgan added before putting on his headphones.

"Or Go." Garcia quipped from her chair. Hotch got up from his seat and proceeded into the kitchenette as well.

"I just wanted to say thank you, if you hadn't pushed it we would never have gone." Hotch informed the blonde, nodding to the brunette.

"Hotch…" JJ sighed but before she could say anything else, Hotch cut in.

"JJ, you don't have to." She nodded at that.

"Uh, I should probably get going." Alastrina couldn't help but feel awkward in the situation but JJ grabbed her arm before she could make any progress.

"Ally, I want you to hear this too." She took a deep breath before starting. "My sister gave this to me when I was eleven. She just came in to my bedroom one afternoon and told me that no matter what happened, she loved me. This was her favorite necklace." She smiled softly. "So I told her I couldn't take it but she insisted. I, of course, was secretly very happy because I always wanted one just like hers. That's the last time I… ever…" Alastrina reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it once she had a firm grasp.

"I'm sorry." Hotch whispered, looking straight at JJ.

"I think about her every day. It does get better Hotch. Losing someone is never easy," she looked over at Alastrina when she said that, "but one day, you'll remember her and you won't hurt. You'll be happy." She smiled up at him before letting go of Alastrina's hand.

"Thank you, thank you for everything." He responded after a moment. JJ nodded and left the area.

"She's right sir. It might not be any time soon but the day will come when you can be happy again. Happy without feeling any guilt about being happy. That much I can promise." She left soon after that, clapping him on the shoulder. On her way to her seat, she mussed up Reid's hair and laughed lightly at his angered 'hey!'. She shared a quick low-five with Emily and sat in the seat adjacent the three of them. Wadding up a paper ball, she threw it at Morgan who picked it up and threw it back at her. She looked over at Rossi and made eye contact but quickly realized the mistake she had made.

"So Jordan, have you given any thought to the oregano for your sauce?" Rossi inquired dryly.

"You know what, Rossi? If it'll make you happy I'll put some oregano in my spaghetti sauce but only if you put chives in yours." She countered.

"Chives? _Chives_ in _my_ spaghetti sauce? I think you've gone and lost your mind. My cooking needs no assistance, you could only hope to get as good at it as I am." Rossi practically yelled in mock outrage.

"And a bit of salt too. I find your sauce to be a bit….bland." She cackled wildly after that and exchanged a high-five with Garcia as Rossi started ranting about how no-one appreciated good cooking anymore.

Hotch watched over the interactions the entire time and couldn't help but to think that she would make an excellent addition to the team. He just hoped her espionage mission went well and she was able to return home. God knows he's had enough death in his life for now.

* * *

**One chapter has come and gone. The next one will either take place five months in the future or sometime during her espionage mission. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to NothingIsPermanent and Dalonega Noquisi for taking the time out to review, I'm much obliged.**

**This chapter spans the five months that Alastrina spent on her espionage mission and ends with her back at the BAU. Unfortunately, uploaded my last chapter without the edits that I made. I went through and tried to fix it so hopefully now the mistakes are rectified. **

**Disclaimer: Criminal Minds belongs to The Mark Gordon Company, ABC Studios, and CBS Television Studios. I only own my OC and my plot.**

**Episode featured in this chapter: 6x02 "JJ"**

* * *

April 16, 2010

Alastrina was _not_ in a happy mood. She had to wake up at 4 o'clock in the morning to drive to a private airport only to end up flying out to New York where she would go to JFK to get onto a plane heading for Brussels which was _late_. She couldn't help but let out a string of curses on everything that she saw. When the plane finally arrived, she couldn't help but to grumble at the flight attendants as well and she could feel her patience quickly dwindling. As soon as she sat down her phone started vibrating in her pocket and she did absolutely nothing to stop the curses that flew out of her mouth.

"Status report Agent Jordan." Her Unit Chief, SSA Phil Thompson, requested.

"Just boarded the plane for Brussels sir." Was her stiff reply, a passing by flight attendant glanced at her with a slightly miffed expression only to be met with a severe glare.

"Good. Now listen closely Agent, when you arrive in Brussels you must meet up with a man by the name of Chris Paulo. He'll be waiting for you with a sign that reads Angela Winston. When you go up to him, he should ask you how the weather in New York is, which you'll respond to with 'very windy'. From there, he should take you to the hospital where you're staying, this is also where you'll meet the rest of your team. The people will be an array of agents from M16, Interpol, the CIA, the FBI, and the FSB. Do not slip up, understood?"

"Understood sir. Will I have any contact with my present team?"

"The bare minimum. Keep track of the phones and e-mails you use. This man is ready to take out any and all threats and he _will_. No hesitation. Make this count."

"Yes sir, I'll try my hardest."

"Good luck Agent, you'll need it." And with that the conversation ended. Alastrina started to feel the pressures of the case at hand. Her phone started to ring again, figuring that it was just Thompson again, she brought it to her ear with a "did I forget anything sir?".

"Yes, you forgot to say goodbye to your best friend in the entire world." Penelope's interpretation of Thompson's deep baritone filtered through the phone.

"Is Reid there?" She responded with a chuckle.

"I should hate you for that, but I can't. Just FYI, Reid is here, along with Morgan, Rossi, JJ, and Emily."

"Why don't you just invite the entire office? I'm sure they have nothing better to do." The sarcasm wasn't lost on anyone listening.

"Well Miss Thing, are you finally taking a break? I'm pretty sure you didn't take one last year." Morgan asked.

"You make it sound like I'm a workaholic."

"That could be argued." Emily cut in.

"Like any of you are ones to talk."

"When are you getting back?" Spencer asked, trying to change the subject.

"In about five months, give or take a few weeks. Don't do anything too fun without me."

"Are you going to Italy? If you do, I suggest you mention nothing about chives and spaghetti sauce, you'll get yourself killed kid." Rossi advised, chuckling all the while.

"You'll find that chives are a necessary ingredient in any pasta sauce."

"Where are you going to visit?" JJ asked, genuinely curious, no one paying attention to the slightly worried expression on Garcia's face.

"Brussels and then I might head to Budapest." She nodded at the flight attendant telling her that it was time to take off. "Guys, I have to go. I'll call you in a little while."

"Okay, but make sure to stay safe. I want my Super Girl back home in one piece, understood?" Garcia pleaded slightly.

"Yes ma'am, bye guys." She chuckled lightly.

"Bye!" Everyone shouted in unison. They all exchanged glances before laughing slightly. Emily, JJ, Morgan, and Rossi all left Garcia's office. Spencer stayed in his seat staring at the phone that they were just using.

"Do you think I should get a haircut?" He asked, turning slightly to face Garcia.

"What?"

"Well Ally says that I really need a haircut and I think she might be right, but I want another opinion."

"I mean, it's not a bad idea. 'Sides someone might get lucky and get those luscious locks as a wig."

"Only about 43% of the hair cut in America gets donated so that wouldn't work."

"So are you not going to get your hair cut?"

"I'm…I'm not sure." He said before he got up and left. Garcia watched him leave with a slight smile on her face. She definitely had something to talk about with Morgan.

* * *

August 24, 2010

Alastrina raced around the corner, running as fast as her legs could take her with her coat whipping in the wind behind her.

"Agent Jordan, status report!" A Russian voice barked over the earpiece she had.

"The operation has been compromised! Get out now!" She replied, coming to a stop at a crossroads looking left and right, trying to figure which way to run. Hearing yelling coming from behind her, she saw the two men that were chasing her down. Making a quick decision, she started running again, going underground and getting onto the subway. She stayed on for more stops then necessary and made sure no one was following her before she got out and went to the underground base they had in Budapest. Tapping out the beat onto the door, she was granted entry. Immediately going to the computer set up, she logged onto the interface and set up a video conference with the FSB Director, the CIA Director, and the Interpol Director.

"Three agents are unaccounted for. Pichtas knows who we are and what we were doing." Alastrina informed the three once everyone was doing.

"So what do we do now?" The Director of the CIA asked.

"I refuse to give up, we've gotten this close. We can capture him." The FSB Director insisted.

"Tell me Agent Jordan, can you track him down?" After receiving an affirmative, he continued. "Then do it. I'll send more agents down from Brussels to take him into custody. They'll be there in two days. You get a location before then, understood Agent Todd?"

"Yes sir." The conversation ended soon after that. With a frustrated groan, she punched a hole through the wall nearest her. Deciding it was best to get started ASAP, she turned around and walked into her office.

* * *

Garcia sighed, staring wistfully at the picture on her desk. She had an array of pictures of the BAU team, her past pets, and had mini-figurines and toys littered about. The picture she was staring at right now was of Alastrina cradling Henry while Jack clung onto her back. Smiling softly, she hoped (not for the first time) that her friend would come back safe and sound.

"You okay Baby Girl?" Morgan asked from the doorframe. Frowning slightly once she saw the picture Garcia was staring at.

"Yeah, I'm fine Baby Cakes." She patted him lightly on the cheek.

"Well Hotch wants the entire team in the conference room, including you." He slung an arm around her shoulders and started leading her out of the room. They walked in a companionable silence all the way to the room, Morgan never once removing his arm from its place around Garcia. Morgan let Garcia take his seat and stood right behind her the entire time. Everyone came in and took their seats leaving only Morgan and Hotch standing.

"I called everyone in here today to discuss Agent Jordan." Garcia's expression quickly turned frightened but this time everyone noticed. "First and foremost, she's safe and healthy. Now, Agent Jordan didn't leave for Brussels for a vacation, she went as part of an elite covert operation to bring down international terrorist Daniel Pichtas. The operation spanned several international government organizations but unfortunately, the mission has been compromised. Pichtas now knows what is going on and some of the people involved in the operation, including Agent Jordan." Hotch paused for a second, glancing around at his team. To say that they were shocked would be an understatement. They were all a mix of frustration, worry, and surprise but Garcia seemed to be the worst off. "The joint forces have decided that they'll continue at any cost to capture Pichtas and anyone is now expendable. I had to get maximum level clearance to tell you all this, I just wanted to make sure that if she's not able to return home, those she's closest to know the sacrifice she has made." There was a heavy silence among the team, each thought about the potential of Alastrina not coming home. Suddenly, a large sob broke through the silence and everyone turned to see Garcia with tears streaming down her face.

"But she's safe right?" Spencer asked in a quiet voice, his heart was racing and the worry was so strong it was almost physically painful for him. He didn't know exactly why his reaction was so bad but he chalked it up to her being one of his best friends.

"For now, yes." Hotch wasn't any better off than the rest of his team. He felt almost responsible for the woman and now that she was in such a dire situation, he had no idea what to say to make it better.

"Please God; bring my baby back home to me." Garcia whispered, looking up to the ceiling. Everyone in the room joined in on the prayer, even Morgan and Reid. She, no matter if she was in the BAU or not, was one of them and they needed her back. She needed to come back to her _family._

* * *

August 26, 2010

Alastrina stood at the head of the conference room, waiting for the additional agents being sent in.

"Agent Jordan, pleasure to see you." A British officer walked in, shaking hands with the woman before gesturing behind him. "My team."

"Agent Baker." She shook his hand and nodded at the team.

"Do you have a location ma'am?" One of the other agents asked.

"Yes, the definite location is at an abandoned warehouse near the train tracks just outside of Budapest. He has an underground base almost exactly like this one, I drew up an approximate floor plan from the information I got." Moving over to her main computer, she opened up the diagram. "The weakest points are here, here and here," she pointed to the places. "The best way to get in would be to split up and attack different entrances and then sneak in through the side door."

"How many total entrances are there?"

"Four. The front, two sides, and then a back. A relative square, sir. However, this side entrance leads out to Lake Balaton."

"So…"

"So it's got its own assumed protection. No one would enter through water; it's risky and almost completely ineffective. They'd never see it coming."

"But if it's so risky, how can we do it?" Another agent asked.

"We can't stay in the water for long, once all three entrances have been attacked, we have to move quickly. The only way we could get a secured entrance through there is if we have the code, so we have to use this." She pulled out a device that resembled a calculator. "You plug it into the port and override the system, not difficult in the slightest."

"Agent Jordan, you've done extremely well." Agent Baker commended.

"Thank you sir."

"You'll have to come with us though. There's no guarantee that we'll be able to work this device, you built this one you should be able to do it."

"Understood sir."

"Listen everyone; we're attacking in seven days time, understood? Prepare yourselves. This is a battle we can't afford to lose." The team saluted before leaving to go draw up battle plans. Alastrina followed behind, moving over to her office to discuss the situation with what remained of her team.

* * *

September 2, 2010

Alastrina dived into the water, leading a mix of her and Baker's teams into the water. She found the keypad quickly enough and attached her device to it. Typing as quickly as she could, she overrode the system and got immediate access. The doors slid open and she and the rest of the team swam in. They found a raised platform where they pulled themselves up and shed the wetsuits. Another keypad was before them but Alastrina got through it just as quickly as the last one and they were inside the base.

"The eagle has landed." She whispered into her microphone.

"The bear is in the forest." Another voice crackled through.

"The lion is in the den." The third voice whispered.

"The tiger is in the grass." Came the final voice. A small smile slipped onto Alastrina's face. All four squadrons were in the base. Now they just needed to find Pichtas and they could go home. The team withdrew their weapons and started to move out, they moved around as silently as possible, not meeting anyone that would stand in their way.

"The bear has found the prey." The Russian voice said again.

"Location." The third voice commanded.

"North wing."

"Lion is on the move for the prey." The English voice responded.

"The eagle is swooping in." The teams were moving with a swift determination now, Tiger had been told to hold their position seeing as how they were in the South wing. Coming in from one hallway, she saw Agent Baker leading Lion down the connecting one. Nodding, they both turned with their weapons raised only to find Agent Aksakov (who was leading the Bear) who gestured towards a door at the end of the hallway. They moved quickly again, getting within a hair's length of the door. Agent Aksakov had one of his team members break down the door and they were in. The firing began almost immediately, but the retaliation was just as swift. Alastrina could see men and women falling around her and moved further into the room, aiding her fellow agents. Suddenly all firing stop, Alastrina looked to the side to see Agent Aksakov with his gun trained on Pichtas. Agent Baker and she made eye contact and they made a split second decision. They quickly disarmed any enemy with their agents following suit. All of Pichtas' soldiers were now knocked unconscious and he was left to fight his battle alone. He raised his arms into the air and Agent Aksakov rather viciously put him in handcuffs. His soldiers were also handcuffed and the Hungarian police arrived not too long after that.

Back at the police station, Agent Jordan shook hands with Agent Baker and Aksakov, all of them thanking each other for their hard work. She had received a conference call earlier from the directors and was given the green light to go home. Smiling, she left the office and made for the base to gather her things.

* * *

September 29, 2010

If there was one thing Alastrina genuinely hated about being a federal agent, it would be the debriefings after cases. Unfortunately, this situation was no different and she was forced into debriefing all five months of her mission to the Director. The process had taken almost all of September and Alastrina was just grateful that it was finally over. Before she could move on to her normal, hectic life however, she had one more thing she had to do.

Walking into the BAU bullpen, her eyes immediately sought the group of people she's come to see as family. She found all of them crowded around two desks, except for Hotch. A smile blossomed on her face and she practically skipped towards the group.

"Well if it isn't the best looking group of people I've ever seen in my life." She called out, standing a few feet away. Emily was the first one to turn around and she didn't hesitate in throwing herself at the younger woman. The two clung to each other for a little while, before another person stepped in. Rossi reached over and pulled Alastrina and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, leaving her and the rest of the team flabbergasted.

"Good to see you alive kid." He ruffled her hair a bit. Morgan walked up once Rossi stepped away and literally picker her up off the ground in his hug. He grinner down at her before a frown tugged at his lips.

"If you ever just go on a spy mission again without telling us, I'll kill you. Understand Miss Thing?"

"Understood sir." She mock saluted him. JJ pushed Morgan out of the way before also pulling her into a hug, laughing a bit. Penelope was next in the "line" that had formed and she had the most relieved expression on her face that had yet to be seen.

"Penelope-,"

"'Just a slight sting operation' my ass! How dare you lie to me like that Super Girl! What if something had happened to you?" She finished in a weak voice before pulling the girl into a fierce hug. Spencer stood slightly to the side, surprised that his heart had practically stopped beating when Alastrina had spoken. He couldn't help the overwhelming sense of relief he felt though and right now he was willing to ignore everything except for the fact that his best friend was back and she was _safe._

"Spence, you got a haircut!" Alastrina grinned cheekily before attacking him with a hug. "It looks really good, by the way. I always told you to get one, didn't I?" Her grin grew when he returned her hug with just as much force. Whispered 'I missed you's were passed between the pair and she stretched up on her tiptoes while forcing him to squat so she could mess with his hair.

"You guys catch up; I still have to clean up the conference room." JJ announced before heading into the room to pick up the files. The group moved back over to the two desks and everyone found a seat before Alastrina noted the difference in how JJ was acting. Morgan, Emily, and Rossi each took turns explaining the situation while Penelope and Reid sat on the sidelines, only occasionally adding information. Once Alastrina was given all of the information, the group looked towards the conference room only to find Hotch standing in the doorway. Unfortunately, the distance wasn't exactly helpful in listening in to the information.

Hotch stood at the door, waiting for JJ to turn around. He couldn't believe he had to do this, JJ was essential to the team, without her God knows how far they would've gotten. For a brief moment he contemplated just throwing the exit interview away and congratulating her on a job well done, but it was too late she had noticed he was there.

"When do I leave?" JJ asked without turning around. She knew this was bound to happen, but she just wished it didn't have to happen now. Especially since Alastrina had just gotten home. Fate truly was a cruel, cruel thing.

"By the end of the week." Hotch's voice was solemn has he answered the question.

Baffled, JJ turned around. "What?"

"They wanted you to start tomorrow." Hotch glanced down again at the paper in his hands before looking up and meeting JJ's gaze head on.

"No, I-I can't, I need to train someone." Her voice was growing slightly hysterical. _'So soon?'_ she cried in her mind.

"I'm not replacing you." His reply was immediate, tone firm.

There was a moment's hesitation where JJ let Hotch's words sink in. "No, Hotch, you can't take this on yourself. Your hands are full."

"We'll figure it out." He started walking forward, dreading every step he took. "I'm hoping I can get you back." There was another brief pause. "Strauss wanted you to fill this out."

"Exit interview, are you kidding me?"

"She's big on procedure. Just be honest. I was hoping I could do something about this… and I'm sorry I couldn't."

"I know." She glanced out of the window at the team down below. Rossi was sitting on Emily's desk, talking while Alastrina was on Spencer's desk talking to both him and Morgan. "How am I supposed to tell them I'm leaving when I don't want to go?" The tears in Hotch's eyes are discernable when he tells her about the Brass only taking away power to feel more in control.

"I'll miss you." He reaches out to shake her hand before hurrying off to his office, avoiding the eyes of his team. The team stops and watches JJ through the window as she fills out her exit interview, none noticing Penelope by the doors. JJ finally comes out and reaches the team, Emily jumping up when she sees her first.

"No." Emily mutters, hoping that she didn't get one friend back only to lose another. They all stand and gather around her while JJ explains that neither Hotch nor Strauss could've done anything to stop it.

"They can't just take you away." Spencer says quietly.

"So we do nothing?" Emily asks slightly angry.

"It's done." JJ responds, trying to stay calm but she can feel the tears sting her eyes.

"It can't be that easy." Alastrina comments.

"It is."

"This job is hard enough, what are they trying to do, bury us?" Morgan asked sarcastically.

"You're too good," Emily scoffs, "that's the problem."

"It's true, you're on everybody's wish list." Rossi agreed. "Our loss is somebody else's gain."

"They can't just take you away." Spencer mutters again. JJ reaches out and puts a hand on Spencer's shoulder, trying to provide some form of comfort while everybody else looks on. They each give JJ hugs before she moves on to say goodbye to Penelope. They can each feel their hearts breaking a little bit and offer that piece to JJ, to take with her wherever she goes.

"You still here?" JJ calls from her spot at the doorframe.

Penelope turned around slowly. "Figured you'd get to me eventually. You're leaving." When JJ looked up again, she continued. "You could've told me. I would've made it impossible to let you go. I would've put something in your file." She was practically in tears now.

"It's not up to me. Or Hotch."

"Don't they understand that we're a family? That that's why this works, because we're a family. Do they even care?" The frustration was becoming more and more evident.

"I don't know."

"I can believe you're – okay, no. I'm supposed to say that this is a great opportunity, which it is." She approached JJ. "I don't know the way this place works without you, you're like the glue around here. Who's going to make us feel safe?"

"There's plenty of big, strong men around." JJ responded sarcastically.

"See that, right that, your total ignorance to how awesome you are is one of the 5,000 things I love about you." Her throat started to close up.

"I'm still going to be in the city, okay? More than normal probably."

"True, then we'll make a plan, breakfast every Tuesday and then life gets in the way and what if I only ever see each other on birthdays and holidays?"

"I won't let that happen."

"You better not, because I know where to find you." They both laughed a bit at that. They both hugged each other, trying to hold back the tears that wanted so desperately to fall. Garcia started sobbing after JJ walked out but looked up when a pair of arms wrapped around her. It was Alastrina and behind her was the rest of the team, all with tears in their eyes. Garcia returned the hug and sobbed without abandon into Alastrina's shoulder.

JJ walked into Strauss' office and dropped the form off before the woman ever saw her. JJ walked down the hallway one last time, reminiscing about all of the old days. A cup of coffee and a comforting touch from Emily, sharing stories and laughs with Penelope, Spence trying to feel the baby move, sharing a meal with almost the entire team – seeing Hotch laugh, Henry's first trip to the BAU where both Morgan and Alastrina held him, the BAU plus Alastrina game of tag that everyone was obligated to play. A smile crept on to her face as she thought about all the good times with _her family._ Memories and experiences nobody could take away from them no matter how much they tried. Everyone there would always be a family, no matter what happened, no matter what someone did and with that final thought, she left the BAU headquarters, ready to face life with her family still at her side. No matter what.

* * *

**I hope I got JJ's departure as emotional as it was in the show. Thank you for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so sorry for the late update but as most of you probably know, life got in the way. **

**Dalonega Noquisi: Thank you! I tried to keep him as close to his actual personality as possible.**

**NothingIsPermanent: Thank you to you as well! I'm really happy you were able to connect with this chapter.**

**Thank you to everyone who has put this on their Story Alert and added it to their favorites, I really do appreciate it.**

******Disclaimer: Criminal Minds belongs to The Mark Gordon Company, ABC Studios, and CBS Television Studios. I only own my OC and my plot.**

**Episodes featured in this chapter: 6x04 "Compromising Positions" and 6x05 "Safe Haven"**

* * *

October 14, 2010

The exhaustion was weighing down on Alastrina, she had just finished working on a case involving an art thief that was due to hit the American Art Museum, but thankfully, they had caught the bastard before he got the chance to steal anything. The entire team was ready to take a much-needed break, but there was no guarantee they would get one. The team was packing up to leave when SSA Phil Thompson approached them again.

"The Metropolitan Museum of Art is going to get a shipment of paintings for a new gallery in a week. We've been called in to aid and assist."

"Isn't that the police's job?" SSA Cameron Graham asked sarcastically. "We've got better things to do than to do the job of the oh-so _glorious_ NYPD."

"Shut up Graham. This is your job, like it or not." Cameron scoffed in response and left after waving to the rest of the team. "The rest of you are dismissed." The team started to leave the office, all with disgruntled looks on their faces.

"We're due for a break, why can't they get another team to do this?" SSA Terrance Regan complained.

"Because nobody else could be bothered. We have to deal with white-collar crimes, remember? We have an obligation to do this kind of crap." Alastrina nodded her agreement with SSA Peter Collin. They were a small team compiled of some of the best cyber analysts in the Bureau. All of them had been forced to go into training to be certified special agents, something they each silently hated. Exiting the building, the team separated ways. Very few questions were asked in between the team, any superfluous information was considered a liability.

Alastrina slipped into her car and pulled out her phone. It would be about an hour's drive to Quantico and she wanted to make sure the team would be there when she got there. Not unexpectedly, Penelope had texted Alastrina the information about the case they were on and all of the updates about what happened. She quickly read them and couldn't help but laugh softly at the situation _surrounding_ the case; namely the UnSub's sexual preferences. Speeding off, she thought back to the conversation she had with Thompson before leaving for the case.

"_Agent Jordan, I think it's imperative that you hear this now and not when it's become an actual problem for you: after the operation you went on was compromised, your life has been at risk. Should Pichtas ever escape from prison, he'd come after you and everyone that was a part of that mission. He most likely already knows where you work and what your job is, keeping you here would be a danger both to this team and yourself."His voice was rather solemn and he couldn't meet her eyes towards the end. _

"_I understand sir, but I have to ask: where will I go?" Her hand drifted towards her bracelet and she started to tinker with it._

"_Have you asked Agent Hotchner?" Seeing her mouth open, Agent Thompson quickly continued. "I know you have your reservations about joining officially, especially since their liaison has just left but you're practically a part of that team anyways."_

"_Does anyone else know about this?" Her voice came out angrier than she intended but she was more concerned about the answer to her question than propriety at the moment._

"_None of the team, not yet anyways. Obviously, the higher-ups know about it. I'll be calling Section Chief Erin Strauss in a few days, or at the very least after you talk to Agent Hotchner. Look, Ally, I don't want to see you go, you're the best agent I've had on this team but your safety is a priority." His voice grew softer and softer. "Mrs. Thompson would love to have you over for dinner sometime." He offered with a small smile._

"_Thank you sir, I'll talk to Agent Hotchner as soon as possible. I'll get back to you about dinner though." Nodding her had at the man and returning the smile, she turned to walk out of the office making barely glancing at the rest of the team. _

A sigh escaped her mouth and she contemplated how she would ask Hotch. She couldn't help but feel like she was intruding by asking him to do something as big as this. Sighing again, she pulled into the BAU parking lot. Getting out of the car, she ran into Spencer on her way down to the bullpen.

"Spence! I heard you were on a swinger's case." A smile was already growing across her face and he found himself adopting one as well.

"I know where you're going with that and don't start." He adjusted his messenger bag; her pout had never affected him before. _'So why now?'_ he mused in his head.

"You always take away my fun." She pushed him lightly.

"We could have our Lord of the Rings night tonight if it makes you feel better." He fought the blush that was dying to color his cheeks.

"Really? Don't forget the snacks though. Do you want me to call Garcia and Kevin? Actually never mind, I'd rather not be subjected to their relationship." She started rambling a bit, her hand drifting to her bracelet again. "I might just invite Garcia, is that okay?" She finally looked back up at him with a soft smile.

"Sure, it's no problem." He returned the smile again before continuing on his way to his car. His heart thumped louder at the prospect of hanging out with Ally. He hasn't spent time with her since before she had left for her espionage mission and he was unashamed to admit that the smile never left his face the more he thought about it.

Alastrina was completely elated at the prospect of spending time with Spencer again. Suffice to say, she had always been attracted to the genius but he had never seemed to reciprocate the feelings. There was a reason she was after him to cut his hair though, she knew it would look nice and the day she came back from her mission her heart had stopped at his new look. She didn't bother knocking at Garcia's door and just walked in.

"Hey Super Girl." Garcia smiled looking up from scanning pages onto her computer.

"I'm going over to Reid's to watch Lord of the Rings; do you want to come with me?"

"And interrupt your time with Boy Wonder? I think not." She wriggled her eyebrows suggestively causing Alastrina's cheeks to flush with color.

"Shut up Penny, it's not like that. At least not for him." The last part was muttered but Garcia had heard it and had opened her mouth to rectify the mistake when Hotch walked in.

"Garcia, Agent Jordan." The latter nodded to him.

"Sir, I'm scanning the open case files, my plan is to have this office paperless in a month."

"That can wait." He took a pause. "When Gideon left the BAU, I found myself taking on too much responsibility and I quickly realized that I could only do the job that I was good at. I've seen you give everything to this case and to this team the last few days but the truth is, we need you here."

"Oh thank god. Sir, I do not want that job. I mean, I want part of the job, I-I want the part that keeps me here because here I'm Mozart but out there I was like a monkey playing the trumpet and you guys need Mozart."

"You did fine. What if we split up the job? You can handle intake and resources here in Quantico, we can cover the rest in the field and when we need you, you'll still travel with us."

"You can do that?"

"Of course."

"But I let you down."

"In no way whatsoever." His lips twitched upward slightly.

"I k-kinda lost my marbles out there."

"Garcia, when you applied for this job you gave me your resume on home-made pink stationary. I realized then that you were unique and I wouldn't want you to change that. Goodnight." He nodded at both women and left the room.

"Well look at you Penny G, the new part-time liaison for the BAU." Alastrina commented, winking at her ecstatic friend.

"Don't you have to get to Reid's soon?" Garcia asked sarcastically, laughing along with Alastrina as she neared the door. "Bye lover girl." Alastrina shook her head before continuing on her way. The drive back to D.C. was fairly quiet and she found her mind drifting to the lost opportunity she had with Hotch not even a full hour ago. Pulling up to the curb, Alastrina got out of the car and walked up the stairs to Spencer's apartment.

Spencer was anxious. There was no other way to describe it. He had put "The Fellowship of the Ring" into the DVD player and got the nachos ready. Well, he didn't heat the cheese or the salsa and he just had the bag of nacho chips open but he felt it was good enough for the both of them. He was almost giddy with happiness when he heard knocks at his door and practically tripped in his haste to get there. Opening it wide, he presented Alastrina with a smile while allowing her inside.

"I put some water in the kettle for tea if you wanted any; you still remember where everything is right?"

"I highly doubt your apartment's changed much since I've been here." She chuckled lightly at him. She dropped her bag off on the ground by the sofa and spread out to cover the entire couch leaving no room for Spencer. He smiled at her usual antics and sat down on the ground in front of the couch. Alastrina could no longer resist the temptation and combed her hands through his hair. Spencer tilted his head back but was met with a dazzling smile, like usual a smile spread on his face. Settling down closer to the couch, he started the movie. Throughout the movie, Alastrina's hand had never left his hair and Spencer was content enough not to change that. Suddenly, a piercing whistling noise rang from the kitchen. "I'll get it." Nodding his head Spencer watched her walk away and immediately missed her touch in his hair. He shook the thought out of his head and quickly averted his attention to the movie. Alastrina came back and wasted no time in playing with Spencer's hair again.

The movie ended with Spencer and Alastrina reciting the ending quote. Alastrina rose with a smile on her face and started to gather her stuff.

"I'll see you later Spence." He walked her to the door where he muttered his own farewells. He remained watching her until she got into her car and drove away. Suffice to say, Spencer went to sleep that night with a big smile on his face.

* * *

October 20, 2010

"Look, I understand that this is technically our area of expertise but why the hell couldn't the NYPD handle this? We're supposed to be called in when something _actually_ goes wrong. Don't we have better things to do than this?" Cameron was griping again but there was no way to stop him. He did have a point too.

"It's almost over, the last painting is due to come in five minutes from now, just relax." Peter tried to reason.

"I don't get why we have to wait the goddamn five minutes Pete! We shouldn't be here in the first place."

"Would you quit your complaining? Just wait five more freakin' minutes." Alastrina glared over at him. Cameron returned the look but decided it was enough to shut up. For once. The five minutes seemed like an eternity and there was a collective sigh of relief when Phil came to relieve them of their duties.

"Agent Jordan, may I have a word?" Nodding her consent, the two walked a little ways away from the rest of the team. "Have you spoken to Agent Hotchner yet?"

"Not yet sir, I'll do it as soon as I can." She said.

"Get on it Agent, you don't have forever." The agitation was becoming apparent on both Thompson's and Alastrina's faces but the situation was getting increasingly intense. When Thompson didn't say anything else, Alastrina excused herself and made a beeline for one of the government SUVs.

* * *

"So how's Ally doing?" Prentiss asked while pouring a cup of coffee.

"What do you mean?" Spencer responded almost frantically. _'How could she possibly know about Ally?'_.

"Well you guys are practically best friends; if anyone around here would know how she is it would be you." She turned around with her mug and a raised eyebrow.

He let out a barely noticeable sigh of relief before nodding jerkily. "Um, yeah. She's fine. A bit jumpy but that's to be expected." He missed the haunted look on Prentiss' face when he turned to glance at the team again.

"She's adjusting well though, right? I wouldn't want there to be any more stress." Her eyebrows were knit with concern.

"She hasn't mentioned anything out of the ordinary, at least not yet." Nodding her head, Prentiss opened her mouth to ask another question when Rossi called out about another development in the case.

* * *

October 23, 2010

Ally walked into the BAU bullpen, having just received an urgent text from Garcia. Maneuvering around the other agents with practiced ease, she found herself in the Lair where a little girl was lounging on a chair watching Garcia as she typed away.

"Ahem." Ally coughed at the door, hoping to get an answer. The girl shot up quickly and scuttled slightly away from her, gracing Garcia with an inquisitive look she waited for her answer.

"Ally, this is Ellie _Spicer_." A look of recognition passed across her face. "Ellie, this is SSA Ally Jordan, she's another one of Derek's friends."

"Hi Ellie, what're you doing here?" She couldn't see the slight shaking of Garcia's head.

"I ran away from home." Ellie whispered in reply.

"How old are you?" Ally was now squatting in front of the girl, trying to make eye contact.

"9." Ellie muttered, trying to avoid eye contact.

"9?" She whistled lightly. "That's pretty impressive right there. I know I wouldn't've been able to do it." She waved her hand at Garcia, encouraging her to return to work. "I bet you've been in this lair for quite some time, do you want to go get something to eat?" When Ellie nodded her head (albeit rather hesitantly), Ally reached down for her hand and led her out asking if she wanted to go to the café across the street. Garcia smiled lightly at the duo before returning to the task at hand.

Across the street, Ellie and Ally were trying to decide between going to the café or the bakery next door.

"The bakery has some of the best éclairs this side of the ocean, but the café has the best bear claws I've ever had. My hands are tied in this situation, you pick." Ally gestured for the girl to go ahead.

"What are éclairs?" Ellie asked, looking up at the older woman. Ally gave a dramatic gasp, bringing a hand to her mouth in mock panic eliciting a giggle from Ellie.

"You've never had éclairs! That's it, let's go. I'll get you two if you like them, just don't tell Derek." Giggling again, the girl latched on to Ally's hand and followed her into the bakery. They chose a table by the window, each with their own éclairs and drinks.

"This is really good, thank you Miss Jordan." The grin was getting bigger with each bite.

"Forget all of this 'Miss' nonsense, it's just Ally for you." Ally took a long sip from her coffee. "Ellie, if I asked you some questions, would you be willing to answer them?" At her nod, Ally continued. "Why'd you leave home?"

"I hated it there. Everyone was so mean and the older boy scared me. He used to try and watch me in the showers and I didn't know what to do. I was so scared." The smile had long since disappeared and Ally could see the beginning of tears form in her eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey. You're safe now and I'm positive Derek is going to do everything he possible can to keep you from having to go back there." She offered the girl a soft smile before glancing down at her watch. "C'mon, we should get going. Penelope's probably starting to freak out already." Looking at the other side of the table, she found Ellie's éclair gone and calmly slides hers across the table before grabbing her bag and standing up. With her coffee cup in one hand and Ellie's hand in the other, she leads the way across the street and into the bullpen, straight to Garcia's office.

* * *

To say that everything was awkward when Ellie's mom had showed up would be nothing short of an understatement. Ally had no idea what to do while in the room with the two and silently thanked whatever higher being there was when Garcia called her out.

"The plane's just landed. The team is on their way here, Morgan can take over." Garcia chuckled lightly at her relieved expression.

"Do you know exactly how long it'll take for them to get here?" She asked.

"Probably around five minutes, why? Do you need to talk to Lover Boy?" Garcia smirked at the thought.

"Unless 'Lover Boy' is now Hotch, no I don't." She laughed out loud at Garcia's horrified expression. Garcia turned around and both women started walking towards the Lair, content in waiting the five minutes for the rest of the team.

Eventually, the time had come to pass and Ally stood at attention the moment she saw Hotch walk past the door. Seeing her friend hesitate, Garcia gave her a light shove towards the door. Stumbling slightly, Ally looked over her shoulder to find Garcia with a thumbs-up and a smile. Nodding her head slightly, Ally walked as quickly as possible without breaking into a job towards Hotch's office. Raising her hand to knock at the door, she held her breath.

"Come in." Hotch called out. Shaking out her hand, Ally opened the door and shut it behind her.

"Sir, I just came to ask you if-,"

"The job's yours." Hotch cut her off. "I was actually wondering how long it was going to take you to ask. You can start next week." Baffled, Ally opened and closed her mouth before turning around and making for the door.

"Thank you sir." She breathed out, catching Hotch's amused look. Nodding once she continued on her way out, getting more amused the further she went.

* * *

**Thank you to everyone for reading, I hope you guys liked it. :D Have a good day/afternoon/evening/night!**


	4. Chapter 4

**If you're unbelievably angry, I completely understand - I deserve it. But if you're in the mood, please accept my humblest apologies.**

**Disclaimer: ****Criminal Minds belongs to The Mark Gordon Company, ABC Studios, and CBS Television Studios. I only own my OC and my plot.**

**Episode featured in this chapter: 6x06 "Devil's Night"**

* * *

October 27, 2010

"So, you're one of us now?" Emily asked when she ran into Ally in the elevator.

"You wish, Strauss decided that I'm a 'potential danger to the safety of this unit and therefore am on a probationary period'." Ally remarked, finger quotes and all.

"Probationary period? Do you get a parole officer too?" The two chuckled lightly before walking out of the elevator. They had barely been out for two minutes before Spencer jumped out at them in a mask. Emily and Ally jumped before Ally dissolved into giggles while Emily just scowled before walking ahead.

"Having fun Spencer?" Ally's smile grew at Spencer's energetic nod. The two started walking again while Spencer continued to babble on about Halloween. "Spence, as interested as I am, isn't that mask getting uncomfortable?" He shook his head rapidly before continuing on with the history of Halloween while following Ally into the briefing room. She met Morgan's eyes with an amused smile before gesturing for some help.

"So kid, what are you thinking of doing for Halloween?" Morgan asked, trying to help out a bit.

"I was toying between going to the Edgar Allan Poe shadow puppet show or the reenactment of-," Spencer frowned in disappointment when Rossi cut him off.

"I don't want to know."

"Oh, yeah you do, it's a reenactment of the nineteenth century practice that mixed science and magic and I just so happen to have an extra ticket." He made eye contact with a smiling Ally before quickly looking away, a slight blush coloring his cheeks. Seeing this, Garcia shot a wink at Morgan before passing out the files.

"I wouldn't have to worry about my feminine curves if you all worried about the amount of trees we're killing here."

"When'd you become an eco-freak?" Morgan shot at her with a smirk.

"Baby I was born green." Before Morgan could respond, Hotch walked in quickly getting everyone on track and shutting down any complaints about working on Halloween.

"Don't arsonists typically hit homes instead of people?" Ally questioned, looking at a picture of a charred skeleton.

"She's right, arsonists are typically white males between the age of 17-25 who can't stay away from fire, they're uninterested in the people, they only want to satisfy their addiction." Spencer supplied.

"So you're saying that even though this guy burns his victims alive, he's not an arsonist?" Penelope asked flabbergasted.

"Fire is simply his weapon." Morgan responded.

"And Devil's Night gives him perfect cover to kill." Spencer noted.

"And we've got 48 hours before he disappears completely." Hotch confirmed.

"The victim is athletic, had to have been hard to subdue."

"The UnSub has to be either equally as strong or stronger, if he was younger that would give him an upper-hand." Ally offered.

"Still, how does he transport his victims and get them inside buildings without being noticed?" Emily asked, staring at the screen displaying the pictures of the crime scene.

"That's what we have to find out." Rossi remarked.

"Wheels up in twenty."

* * *

Ally sped past Spencer to get to the seat next to Emily. She smirked up at him when he stood next to her and Spencer couldn't help but give her head a soft nudge. Morgan smiled at the scene before buckling in for take off. Once the plane was in the air, the team started in on the case.

"I thought Devil's Night was Halloween Eve." Emily remarked, flipping her folder open.

"Actually, the term Devil's Night is used in reference to a three day city-wide festival in Detroit." The team looked over at Ally while she just shrugged. "Spencer isn't the only one who can read."

"The Festival consists of masks, chaos, and costumes." Reid added.

"Try to say that three times fast." Rossi remarked sarcastically.

"So it's like Mardi Gras." Emily stated.

"A violent one, every year thousands of fires are lit and hundreds of crimes are committed." Spencer responded, moving to lean on Ally's seat. The change in position didn't go unnoticed by Morgan but he chose to redirect his attention to the practical history lesson Spencer was providing.

"We'll most likely be dealing with someone who has a hero complex." Ally remarked.

"First responders, fire-fighters, volunteers." Morgan expounded.

"All of whom we'll be working with." They continued to try to develop a preliminary profile before landing but Ally kept finding her mind drifting back to those months hunting down Pichtas. Emily noticed the distracted look on her friend's face but kept quiet, hoping to get some private time later on to help Ally face whatever demons were haunting her.

* * *

Once the jet landed, the team split into two groups, Rossi, Hotch, and Spencer would head to the Detroit Police Department while Morgan, Emily, and Ally went to the crime scene. All throughout the car ride, Emily sent furtive glances Ally's way trying to gauge whether or not she was coping well enough. There was a certain level of concern Emily had that she knew the others wouldn't necessarily understand when it came to dealing with someone who spent the better part of a year hunting and capturing a terrorist. They arrived at the scene with relative ease and Emily was forced to shake off her concern for Ally, at least for the time being.

"No wonder he picks this place to burn his victims, there's nobody to leave as a witness." Ally remarked while getting out of the car.

"He could beat, torture, or burn somebody and no-one's here to hear it." Morgan added.

"Never though the FBI would be here for a fine city tradition. I'm Al Garner with the DFD." A man walked up to the three of them, shaking hands with the three.

"Agents Morgan, Prentiss, and Jordan." Morgan introduced.

"Devil's Night must keep you pretty busy, huh?"

"Not as much as it used to, we've gotten the fires down from 700 to just 115. Luckily, we've had some help."

"I noticed the signs, have your cops increased their rounds." Ally asked, glancing at the sign pasted to the door.

"I wish we could, but we don't have the funds for it. Detroit's Finest is a community group with over a thousand members." The three agents shared a look before following Lt. Garner into the building.

"We're going to have to add some names to Garcia's list." Ally remarked while walking down the hallway.

"You think it's one of them?" Lt. Garner asked.

"We can't rule anyone out." Morgan responded. The hallway ended at a massive room, it could easily have been two to three stories high.

"What was this place?" Emily asked, looking around the room.

"An old engine room." Lt. Garner moved over to the charred boxes. "This is where we found his body."

"The char line ends over here." Ally stood at the end of the line and looked towards the pillar where the body was hung.

"Not a good vantage point." Emily remarked, moving to stand directly in front of the pillar.

"The exit's right there." Lt. Garner pointed out.

"He's uninterested in that, he's confident in his ability to handle the fire, he wants to watch his victims burn." Morgan responded.

"So why choose this spot? It doesn't have a good view of either the victim or out the windows." Ally remarked, shifting her position to look at the windows.

"He wants to stay in here the longest he possibly can without suffering any harm." Emily added, squatting near the remains of the boxes.

"There's a fire alarm, my men would be here in five minutes tops."

"Then he has to either know the response times or be listening to police calls." Morgan said before sharing a nod with both Ally and Emily.

* * *

Spencer, Hotch, and Rossi were crowded around the victims' case files trying to identify something that connected them when Ally walked in.

"How'd it go?" Rossi asked, barely glancing up from his reading.

"The only thing we got for sure is that he's listening to the police calls to track response times." She took the open seat next to Spencer before grabbing a file and reading it.

"The first time I looked at these victims on a map, none of it made sense. Seven different victims, various ages, sex, and ethnicities." Spencer started.

"What do you see now?" Rossi looked up at him.

"The first victim-"

"Often tells us the most."

"Tommy Proctor."

"Rap sheet's as long as the Nile, looks like he was accustomed to the dark side."

"The first kill inspired him, what was different about it?" Hotch flipped through to the information on Proctor.

"First of all, his body wasn't found for days. It was buried deep in the building." Spencer supplied.

"That tells us that they knew each other."

"Not to mention that it took many botched attempts to burn him."

"Because the UnSub didn't realize how difficult it is to actually burn a human body." Rossi said.

"Or the UnSub wanted him to feel the most pain." Ally added.

"Which would definitely make it personal." Hotch commented.

"If he knew the first victim, it's more than likely that he knew them all." Spencer glanced at the other three agents, his gaze lingering on Ally.

"If that's true then we just need to find out what connects them." She glanced up, looking at Spencer before shifting to look at the other two agents.

"We can start by talking to Tony Torell's wife." Hotch made eye contact with Rossi.

"I'm on it." Rossi headed out to meet with Mrs. Torell followed by Hotch who wanted to speak with Lt. Garner leaving Spencer and Ally in the room to finish setting up the board with the information they gathered. The two worked quietly and efficiently, they soon had everything set up and Ally took the back seat while letting Spencer tweak his geographical profile.

Her gaze drifted off to the side and her mind was instantly assaulted by memories of her time in Budapest. The running, the screaming, the hunting. It felt like years ago, a memory wished to be forgotten but never would. Her mind jumped to the Agents she was working with. Aksakov and Baker, she never thought that this mission would affect her as much as it did but it seemed that her thoughts would forever be plagued by it.

Spencer stared at Ally. His gut was telling him that something was wrong but he had no idea how to broach the subject with her. He knew it had to do with the mission she went on, but why was it causing her so much strife? _Probably because her life was threatened. _He silently agreed with what his inner voice was telling him and reasoned that it was a logical response to the situation she was in but still, despite the logic and the reasoning, his heart ached for his friend. In more ways than one.

* * *

"You make him sound like he's Freddy Kruger." Lt. Garner addressed Rossi once he had finished relaying the information to everybody.

"No, but I do think he's severely burned."

"It explains why he chooses this time of year, he doesn't have to hide his burns." Spencer remarked.

"What about his victims?" Lt. Garner asked, leaning on the table.

"He's punishing them for wronging him." Hotch looked up at him.

"Wronging _him?_ What about his second victim? Have you looked at Josephine Davis's life? She was the nicest woman in the world, how does she wrong this guy?"

"She's probably related in some way to what caused his burns. A civil servant most probably." Ally posed.

"So he's acting out of revenge? Kierston and Tony didn't even talk to him that night."

"Like Agent Jordan said, it's probably related to his burns. Even if they didn't talk to him last night, they probably talked to him sometime in the past." Emily nodded at Ally.

"Wait a minute," Morgan who had stayed quiet up until this point said. "Josephine was abducted from her husband, Tony from his wife."

"You think these couples represent a happiness he covets?" Emily questioned.

"Or something he lost, he's a young guy with a deformity. Lots of insecurities come with that."

"A trauma like that, it's enough to rip a couple apart." Ally said, making eye contact with Morgan.

"Do you know how rare it is for an arsonist to be a burn victim?" Lt. Garner asked, taking a seat.

"Less than 3.5%" Spencer quickly responded causing Ally's lips to twitch in a small smile.

"This guy's _not_ an arsonist. He's a serial killer who uses fire and that choice in weapon shows us that he's aggressive, driven, and destructive just like fire itself." Morgan tried to explain to Lt. Garner.

"But why would someone so controlling use a weapon that's so unpredictable?" Emily wonder out loud.

"This juxtaposition tells us that there's more going on with him than we realize." Spencer responded.

"There's a strong possibility that he had an accident and during that time he may have lost someone else." Ally suggested.

"We should look at accidents where couples were burned." Hotch said while nodding his agreement.

"You're talking about hundreds of fires." Lt. Garner informed.

"Focusing on ones where gas was the accelerant."

Morgan's phone started ringing at the exact same instant that Emily started speaking. "Leaving his victims in the center of these buildings themselves may be subconscious on his part but it says that his affected his very core."

"Somebody else has just been abducted."

"How do we know this is our guy?"

"Because his daughter said that a monster took her daddy away." Morgan immediately put Garcia on speaker so that everybody could listen to the information she was providing. It was quickly determined that the UnSub would already be within the Rivertown District and roadblocks were quickly established. Hotch and Lt. Garner left to go patrol the district leaving the rest of the team to try to form a connection between the man that was just abducted and the other victims.

"He was a general contractor." Garcia offered.

"Look for any sub-contractors he may have worked with." Morgan said.

"That's a humongous list, what do you want me to do with it?"

"Anything that requires flames; plumbers, electricians, welders. Did he fire a welder recently?" Rossi suggested.

"He's been using Vinnie's Welding and Fence but he hasn't hired them back in months. The list of employees is still a lofty handfull."

"We think he's been following the investigation. Look for volunteers with Detroit's Finest." Emily offered.

"This person was probably out of commission for a little while too. Anyone that wasn't at work for some time." Ally said.

"I'm crossing employees with volunteers. Nothing."

"Come on Baby Girl, keep checking, there's got to be a connection here." Morgan encouraged.

"I'm going to long shot it and cross the Michigan Business Directory with the Payroll Company and see if I've still got what it takes to find stuff." Garcia took a breath, typing rapidly. "And I do. His name's Kaman Scott."

"You got an address?"

"I'm working on that." Garcia continued to type frantically at her computer. "Okay, from a look at Kaman's early years he was on the fast track to becoming some kind of hoodlum super convict but something happened in 2004 that made him change his tune. There aren't any more arrests, suspicions, no rehab, he totally cleaned up."

"That's when he met someone." Ally suggested, meeting Spencer's eyes.

"Has he ever been arrested with a man named Tommy Proctor?" Spencer asked, breaking eye contact with Ally.

"Once in 2002. Yikes, and then they collided again in 2005. Like literally collided. Kaman was in an accident and his car blew up."

"There's your gas accelerant." Morgan remarked.

"He was hit by that guy. Tommy Proctor."

"And there's your revenge." Rossi added.

"So Tommy walks away without a scratch and Kaman suffers a ton of third degree burns, had a boat load of skin graphs, was in a coma for a couple of months, lost his apartment, oh and there's that guy! Tony Torrel, he was Kaman's landlord."

"So we're right, he does have a revenge list." Spencer stated, leaning in a bit to get closer to the intercom.

"What about family, friends, acquaintances?" Rossi questioned.

"No, that Kaman is a lone wolf and his address just came up. Big Bad lives at 5923 Mills." Morgan and Emily immediately shot up from their seats to head out.

"Thank you Baby Girl." Morgan called while walking out of the door.

"I'll go tell Hotch." Ally said before getting up to go call him. Once she got back, the three of them started trying to find anyone that could be connected to Kaman.

"What about a high school sweetheart?" Ally offered.

"No, that person would be a part of the life he was trying to leave behind. It had to have been someone completely new. Someone who wasn't there when he was on a downward spiral." Rossi refuted. The three were fully prepared to spend the rest of the time until Morgan and Prentiss came back determining where the person who changed Kaman Scott's life came from until they got a call saying that a man was found burned in the middle of the road. The three quickly set off with the local police to the crime scene where they met up with Hotch.

"Anything in the van?" Hotch asked.

"Welding equipment, cans of gasoline." Rossi started.

"And a cage." Spencer finished.

"I'm getting everyone in the city down here on this." Lt. Garner said before walking away to make some calls.

"Without his car he's going to lie in wait until he can't anymore." Hotch said.

"And then he'll lash out at the person who hurt him the most." Ally added. She and Spencer walked over to the dead body to try and find anything else while Hotch and Lt. Garner went back to patrolling the district. "He was rushing through this. Kaman didn't care if he suffered or not. He just wanted him to burn."

"He's only a couple of steps away from going after the woman then." Rossi stated, walking over to where the two stood. "While it's just the three of us, how you holding up kid?"

"I'm fine, really." She added after she met Rossi's disbelieving stare.

"Are you sure you are?" Spencer asked, moving closer to her. Her posture relaxed the closer he got, something Rossi took note of and smiled a bit at.

"Positive Spence." Just then, Ally's phone started ringing. Checking the ID, she saw that it was Garcia and quickly picked up.

"What's up Penny G?"

"The rest of the team is heading to Jay-Mo's to try and intercept Kaman. You should head over with your sidekicks."

"Copy that." She looked up to see Rossi's incredulous stare.

"Did she just call me a sidekick?"

"You and Spencer, yeah. We need to head over to Jay-Mo's." Ally responded with a small smile before heading over to one of the police officers to hitch a ride to the next scene. The two men followed her and as soon as they reached the car they were going to be traveling in, they heard a request for a fire truck for Jay-Mo's. Sharing a glance, they quickly got into the car before speeding off to the diner.

* * *

The three of them got there at the same time as Morgan and Emily to watch Hotch hustle around a few paramedics to get to Jay-Mo to ask him questions about the girl in the picture. He got as much information as he possibly could before turning back to the assembled agents.

"Hotch, you ran into a burning building?" Morgan asked immediately.

"I didn't have a choice. Her name's Tracy, Kaman's trying to find her." Hotch answered.

"That man put his life on the line for her." Spencer stated, his eyes never leaving the retreating ambulance.

"She must mean something to him." Emily reasoned.

"She means everything." Hotch amended before calling Garcia for more information. Garcia quickly listed off everything she could find about Tracy including that she was adopted by her aunt and that's most likely where she would be right then. As soon as the address was confirmed, the team set off to get there before Kaman could hurt anybody else. Hotch and Lt. Garner went first and got there far ahead of anyone else.

"Hotch is going in without backup." Morgan observed, frustration clear in his voice.

"He won't do anything to spin him." Reid reassured.

"It's not Kaman I'm worried about."

"This isn't his first time at the dance. We've got to trust him." Rossi countered, quelling any arguments for the moment. They all moved out and into the front yard, waiting patiently until the okay was given. Once it was, police went inside to get Kaman into handcuffs and escort him out of the house. The team stood by and watched as he was led to the police car and his son plastered himself against the window to say goodbye.

The plane ride passed with relative ease. Rossi and Ally were discussing different cooking techniques, Hotch and Emily were talking about Jack and what he would be doing for Halloween, and Morgan and Spencer were talking about Spencer's Halloween plans.

"Why don't you just ask Ally out? Didn't you say you had an extra ticket to something." Morgan suggested, rolling his eyes at Spencer's surprised expression.

"Why would I ask her out?" He retorted, looking over at her.

"Because you're practically drooling on yourself just looking at her."

"It's not like that. She's just a really good friend."

"And you'd like her to be more."

"She's just a friend."

"Then ask her out as a friend. C'mon kid, act like a man."

"I'm pretty sure she already has plans anyways."

"Has she told you that?"

"Well... no."

"Then just ask her."

"Statistically, taking into account that it's almost Halloween already, there's a 86% likelihood that she already has plans."

"And what about that other 24%?"

"It's all completely variable. She might already have a date."

"If you don't ask her, I will."

"You'll ask her out for me?"

"No I'll ask her out period."

"You can't do that."

"Oh look at that, Pretty Boy's got some fight in him."

"Just leave her alone, I'm telling you she probably already has plans."

"Fine, let's find out."

"What?" Spencer watched gobsmacked as Morgan walked over to Ally.

"So, baby cakes, you have any plans for Halloween?"

"Don't let Garcia hear you giving other people nicknames Morgan, she just might hurt you. And yes, I do have plans."

"Sitting at home by yourself watching horror movies does not count." Morgan raised a haughty eyebrow in her direction.

"What about sitting in someone else's home and watching movies with them?" She countered with a sarcastic smile. Spencer's gut clenched when he heard that. His mind started racing a mile a minute to try to figure out exactly who she would be spending her night with and the statistical probability that the date would lead to a romantic relationship, how far that relationship would go, and how long that relationship would last.

"Oh really, and who exactly are you spending the night with?" He could feel himself becoming more and more tense as the silence stretched on.

"Why, a little Miss Penny G of course." Spencer immediately felt himself relax, he could even feel a slight smile tugging at his lips.

"Care to expand that date?"

"Sorry hon, but no can do. I prefer having Penelope all to myself." Rossi started chuckling at that which got all three of them cracking up. Ally looked up and made eye contact with Spencer, the smile never fading and he was willing to bet money that it actually got brighter.

* * *

**Thank you to everyone reading this. It takes some mean dedication on your part.**

**NothingIsPermament: I hope there were enough Ally/Spence moments in here for you. I am trying to pace them though, so I'm trying not to overload the moments.**

**Dalonega Noquisi: I didn't really give the characters a chance to get used to another person joining the team but seeing as how she's such an important member to them, I didn't think it would be very difficult for her to become an official member of the crew. **

**Thank you to the Guest who commented, I'm happy you're digging the relationship as much as I am.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I think this is quite possibly the quickest I have ever updated. This probably won't be a trend though, sorry. **

**Disclaimer: ****Criminal Minds belongs to The Mark Gordon Company, ABC Studios, and CBS Television Studios. I only own my OC and my plot.**

**Episode featured in this chapter: 6x10 "What Happens at Home..."**

* * *

October 30, 2010

"What are we doing here? I'm going to be late to my shadow puppet show." Spencer protested as Morgan practically dragged him down the sidewalk towards Garcia's apartment.

"We're just going to drop in and see how the girls are doing, possibly frighten them a little and then you, Pretty Boy, can go to whatever thing it is you prefer to seeing Ally." Morgan tried to goad him into taking the bait, knowing he would immediately light up at the accusation Morgan had thrown at him.

"You know that's not true. Besides, they're probably already busy so why are we doing thing again?" His question heeded no response from Morgan who decided that the only way to get Spencer to go along with this was to ignore him completely. It worked. The two ascended the stairs and waited outside of the door for Garcia to open it.

"Hey Sweet Cheeks, you even brought Lover Boy. How sweet. Come on in." Garcia greeted, ushering the two inside. The apartment was unreasonably dark with only a few shaded lamps to guide their way.

"Garcia, I know you take movie marathons seriously but is this much darkness really necessary?" He practically sprinted towards the lamp. Not only was the lack of light bothering him, but it was also the fact that he had yet to see or hear Ally. His mind instantly jumped to data that suggested that crime rates increased significantly on Halloween and started running the statistical probability that she was involved in one of them. That is anyways, until he was forced into the living room by Morgan. Suddenly, all of the lights came on at once at the same time that the team jumped up yelling "Happy Birthday!". His eyes immediately sought out Ally's, knowing she was the one who planned this.

"Technically, it's happy belated birthday but I think we can make an exception this time around, right?" Ally asked before walking over to give Spencer a hug. It lasted for a few minutes before the two pulled away, both with huge smiles on their faces. Everyone gathered in a group around Spencer after that, with hugs and claps on the back but the highlight of the night for Spencer was when Jack and Henry attacked him with hugs at the same time. He barely even registered the click of a camera while cradling the two to him.

"Let them eat cake!" Garcia shouted before cackling and scampering off to the kitchen with Morgan following behind, presumably to get the cake. Once inside of the kitchen, however, the two had a completely different idea. "So how's Operation Star-Crossed Nerds going?" Morgan laughed at the name.

"Very slowly. He definitely likes her but he's just too damn scared to do anything about it." Garcia sighed at that, moving to the fridge to pull out a Star Trek themed cake.

"Same here, I'm doing all the pushing I can without worrying about a break. Why do they have to be so stubborn?"

"Don't stress out so much about it Baby Girl, they'll work it out in their own time." Morgan moved behind Garcia and started to massage her shoulder gently.

"Oh you always know what to say my sweet Fudge Pop. Let's get going before they start panicking about where we've gone off to." Shoving the bowls and spoons into Morgan's arms, Garcia lit the candles that were embedded in the cake before carting it into the living room. As soon as Spencer saw the cake, his grin grew even bigger and he pulled Ally in for another hug.

"Thank you." He whispered to her sincerely. Ally smiled and pecked his cheek in response. Garcia almost started cackling at the scene but luckily, she composed herself.

"Can I get some cake Daddy?" Jack tugged on Hotch's sleve.

"Of course you can but let Spencer blow out the candles first." Hotch smiled down at his son. Jack nodded his acceptance before gently pushing Spencer towards the cake. Everyone chuckled softly before redirecting their attention to the cake, and Spencer of course. The singing started as soon as Spencer took his first breath and didn't stop until Henry started complaining. Morgan and Ally had made it their goal to sing as obnoxiously as humanly possible before they were stopped.

"What about dinner?" Emily asked around a bite of cake. Rossi and Ally started glaring at each other from across the table prompting a lot of rolled eyes and exasperated sighs.

"You do realize we would have real food if it wasn't for you interfering, right?" Rossi remarked, pointing his spoon at her.

"_My_ interfering? Are you serious? Everything was perfect until you stampeded in, yelling about how you're the only person who can cook on this team."

"It's not my fault it's the truth."

"Oh please, I've had better spaghetti from a Greek restaurant."

"A _Greek_ restaurant? That better have been in Italy if you know what's good for you." Rossi was practically yelling.

"Nope." She popped the 'p'. "It was in San Francisco." Rossi threw his spoon at her in mock anger earning a balled up napkin in return.

"Mommy, why are they fighting?" Henry asked from Will's arms.

"I don't know baby, maybe they should grow up." Ally stuck her tongue out at JJ before going to the kitchen to get something to drink. Emily, seeing the perfect opportunity to talk to Ally, went in behind her.

"So Ally, how are you? How are you coping?" Emily asked once they were both pouring their drinks.

"What am I coping with?" Ally handed Emily the jug of sweet tea.

"Well, maybe the fact that you went on a covert operation for five months and had to watch your friends be shot down." Emily smiled, but there was no humour behind it.

"Right, that." Ally sighed, staring down at her drink. "It's not exactly easy to ignore. Every time I close my eyes, I see each of them and I keep thinking, why didn't I do something to help them? Why was it them and not me? Honestly, it's one of the worst feelings I've ever had." Emily was clearly taken aback by the honesty, she was expecting a bigger fight when it came to admitting her feelings. Walking over, she pulled Ally into a tight hug and just held her for a little while.

"We better get going, wouldn't want Morgan to eat all of the cake." When they got back to the living room, Ally immediately went over to Spencer who was trying to entertain both Jack and Henry with his magic tricks. Emily went over to JJ and the two started catching up on everything.

Garcia looked around the room at everyone gathered together. The entire family was there and she couldn't be any happier. She looked over at Ally and Spencer with the kids, now if only those two would just bite the bullet.

* * *

December 8, 2010

It had been over a month since Ally had transfered to the BAU but Strauss still refused to allow her to be considered and official member of the team.

"Your mental health is still a matter of concern for everyone involved. If you were ready to snap at any given moment, you do realize that I would suffer the consequences, right? But this isn't just a matter of importance for me. Imagine what would happen to the unit if you turned into another Agent Greenaway." Ally's jaw clenched at the insinuation but instead of giving Strauss any additional ground to criticize her, she schooled her features and tried her damnedest to keep her temper under control. The conversation had taken place earlier that morning but Ally was still fuming when she went to rant to Garcia.

"Does everyone think tat I'm a loose cannon?" Ally finished pathetically, collapsing into the extra seat across from Garcia.

"Of course not. Everyone knows that you're a kick-ass agent. Now get going Super Girl, you have a case that you need to be briefed for." Garcia sent her out with a smile, but it dropped just as quickly. If Garcia were to be completely honest, she would admit that she was more than a little concerned about Ally. She had seen the faraway look in her eyes. The way she hesitated before doing something. The way she constantly checked over her shoulder, trying to find someone that isn't actually there. Garcia was afraid that she wasn't actually dealing with what happened, she was just running from her fears. Sighing, Garcia tossed the pen she was playing with down and turned to the computers, she had work to do.

Ally took the cup of coffee Morgan offered with a small smile. She followed him, Emily, and Spencer into the briefing room taking notice of the lack of an old Italian man.

"Three women murdered inside a gated community in Southeast New Mexico in the last two months." Hotch started as soon as they walked in. "Marjorie West was strangled in her home in the middle of the night while her family was out of town. They found her the next morning. Jill Long was strangled in the laundry room while her husband and sons were camping in the backyard. And last night Aubrey Jacobs was murdered in her home office while her daughter and husband were asleep in the house."

"Occupied dwellings is as high risk as it gets." Morgan stared at the pictures of the three women on the TV screen.

"And he's fearless." Spencer leaned back in his chair, looking at Ally quickly.

"Proximity, the chance he might get caught. That could be part of it for him." Emily noted, flipping through the pictures on her tablet.

"How strong is the security for the neighbourhood?" Ally looked up at Hotch.

"Small security staff and perimeter cameras. Everything's recorded 24/7 and no-one has entered or left the compound last night except for residents, it looks like the UnSub is part of the community. The local detective says that demographics, general makeup, and socio-economic status of the residents is essentially the same."

"That's going to make a profile difficult." Emily remarked.

"Unless we examine a different set of parameters."

"Different parameters?" Morgan and Ally voiced at the same time.

"Rossi's working on that right now." Taking that as their cue to leave, the three grabbed their tablets (or files for Spencer) and headed to their desks to grab their bags.

"I'm going to head over and get some éclairs. You guys want anything?" Ally asked while stuffing her tablet into the bag. Spencer ignored the pointed look Morgan was giving him and shook his head.

"I'll come with you. God knows I need some sugar in me." Emily said, slinging her bag over her shoulder and moving to stand by Ally. Morgan shook his head and the two set off to go across the street.

"That was the perfect opportunity Pretty Boy." Morgan reprimanded.

"For what? We're about to spend at least a day together anyways." Spencer grabbed his bag and started heading for the elevator. Morgan heaved a sigh but stayed quiet while watching Spencer walk away. '_Someday that kid'll learn,' _he thought to himself.

After dropping by both apartments and grabbing a few éclairs, Emily and Ally returned to the bullpen before Hotch and Rossi even knew that they were gone. The two crowded around Morgan's desk, joking around.

"Where's Spencer?" Ally plopped down on the abandoned chair.

"Went home to get his things ready." Morgan replied before seeing Hotch and Rossi walking over with a young blond in tow. "Look alive guys, the sharks are coming back." Ally snorted at that and then proceeded to bury her nose in her papers to stifle the laughs.

"Agent Seaver, Supervisory Special Agents Morgan, Prentiss, and Jordan." The three shot up and shook her hand.

"I've heard a lot about all three of you." Seaver greeted with a smile.

"We hope it's all good." Ally chuckled at that.

"Very, sir."

"Anything specific? I mean about me in particular." Ally was practically falling over with her laughter at that point.

"Oh please don't encourage him." Emily called from the side.

"Agent Seaver's on loan to us from the Academy while she's in remedial training with an injury." Hotch explained, casting Ally a look to get her to stop laughing. Understanding the look she was so used to, she reeled in her laughter until she was perfectly calm.

"Concussion. Hand to hand got a little out of control."

"How's the other guy?" Emily asked.

"Oph, don't ask." The assembled few chuckled at that.

"I was remediated in the Academy also." Spencer said while walking up to the group. Hotch and Ally shared amused glances.

"Agent Seaver, Dr. Reid." Rossi introduced.

"Um, what was your issue?"

"To make it simpler for you, it was virtually everything outside of books." Ally responded before Spencer could say anything, shooting him a wink before continuing. "They had to make a hell of a lot of exceptions for this kid." Spencer frowned at her but was secretly delighted that she remembered so much from their previous conversations.

"Agent Seaver is going to accompany us to New Mexico." Hotch told the team, earning a few surprised looks.

"She is?" Morgan questioned, his glance immediately jumping to Ally.

"As a consultant." The four each let out their own sigh of relief.

"Agent Seaver offers a _unique_ perspective." Ally rolled her eyes at Rossi's dramatics but couldn't deny that her interest had been piqued.

"They don't know?" Seaver turned to Rossi.

"We weren't sure how you wanted to..."

"Seaver's not my original last name, it's my mother's maiden name. Mine used to be Beauchamp, my father's Charles Beauchamp."

"As in the Redmond Ripper Charles Beauchamp?" At Seaver's nod Spencer continued. "He killed 25 women over 10 years in rural North Dakota. I think you caught him, right Rossi?"

"Hotch was on that team too."

"Based on her life experience, we were hoping that Agent Seaver would be able to recognize something in the family dynamic that could be useful. We have a plan waiting." At Hotch's obvious dismissal, the group started moving. Ally made a quick decision and sped off to Garcia's lair.

"Ally?" Emily asked as she passed.

"I'll just be a minute." She called over her shoulder. She knocked briefly at Garcia's door before walking in.

"Super Girl? Aren't you supposed to be on a plane right now?" Garcia had barely finished her sentence before she was wrapped in a tight hug.

"I know you worry and I just wanted you to know that I appreciate your concern." Ally squeezed one more time and then let go. Smiling at Garcia, she walked back out and went to get her stuff. Morgan and Emily were still lurking about, waiting for her so she sped up her gait.

"Before we get on that plane, we're going to let you in on what Hotch just told us." Morgan started, swinging an arm around her shoulders.

"He says not to expect anything from Seaver, that we're going to work this like a normal case." Emily finished the thought.

"Why are you telling me this again?"

"Because we know as well as you do that when you saw her, you thought you were being replaced. Knowing that little tid bit of information that we just shared with you can remind you that you _are_ a part of this team. You're not expendable here." Morgan hugged her quickly. A smile lit up her face at his words, the elevator ride was spent in an amiable silence and soon enough they were in an SUV, cracking jokes like there was no tomorrow.

* * *

The two SUVs carrying the six agents pulled into the neighbourhood in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Out of one came Hotch, Rossi and Seaver and from the other came Morgan, Emily, Ally, and Spencer, the last of which was rambling about Star Trek.

"Reid, give it a rest." Morgan called out. Ally smiled softly and reached out to pat his arm. She didn't notice the light blush that danced across his cheeks at her actions.

"Detective Ruiz?" A man stepped forward at Hotch's call. "I'm Agent Hotchner, these are Agents Morgan, Prentiss, and Jordan, Dr. Reid, Agents Rossi and Seaver."

"Thanks for coming. As your tech requested, we moved everything from our station into our model home." Det. Ruiz pointed at the house behind him.

"Agents Jordan, Prentiss, and I would like to take a look around the compound." Morgan stated.

"We'd love to get a look at the latest crime scene too if that's possible." Emily added.

"Of course, let me just get everything situated and I'll walk you over there."

"Oh we can find it." Ally answered with a smile.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it's no problem." Morgan answered before the three of them walked away.

"Sure aren't the mind your own business type are they?" Prentiss observed the neighbours loitered around the area.

"So how come none of them have seen our UnSub?" Morgan posed, glancing at each of the men and women that were gathered.

"This is not going to be easy." Ally muttered, making eye contact with an elderly lady that was giving them the stink eye. The three made their way to the Jacobs household, taking note that every house had similar floor plans. "If he knew the layout of one house, he knew the layout of almost all of them." Emily and Morgan nodded their agreement. Once inside, Morgan and Ally went straight to the private study leaving Emily to question Drew Jacobs.

"So husband and daughter are asleep upstairs, she's sitting here typing something up." Ally sat down in the chair, pretending to type something on the desk.

"The UnSub sneak up behind her, starts strangling her, then drags her on to the ground for better positioning." Ally shook her head, staring at the ground for a while.

"If he dragged her down, her body would've been splayed out differently." Looking up, she saw the window. "No, she heard something, a car passing or a dog barking and went to go see what it was." Ally moved towards the window, staring out of it.

"Then he snuck up behind, strangled her until she collapsed." Morgan nodded in time with what he was saying.

"This is one ballsy asshole. Not only does he kill in occupied houses, he kills in front of windows." The gall of this UnSub perturbed Ally.

"Let's get back to Prentiss." Morgan led the way back to the living room where Emily and Drew were stationed. "Wait, Jordan, check this out." Morgan walked into the garage.

"What?"

"Didn't the report say that he came in through the garage?" At Ally's nod, Morgan pointed at the garage doors. After a moment of confusion, realization dawned on Ally. They quickly made their way into the living room.

"Sir, the UnSub came in through the garage?" Morgan asked once he was close enough.

"Yeah, Detective Ruiz said that the garage openers in this compound only have five unique codes. You'd think they'd tell you that when you moved in right? Anyone could just drive around and open up a fifth of the garage doors." Drew's voice cracked towards the end. "I usually make sure that the inside door is locked but Aubrey stayed up late..." He trailed off.

"We're very sorry for your loss." Emily consoled when they heard a little girl's voice call for Drew from upstairs. He excused himself to take care of his daughter.

"I'll go get the laptop." Ally headed back to the study and called Garcia.

"The Great and Powerful Penelope Garcia at our service."

"Penny, I have a computer I need you to bestow your magic upon."

"What kind of magic?"

"You're going to have to fish on this one darlin'." Ally shifted her phone to a more comfortable position. "I'll have it set up at the model home in 20 minutes tops."

"Alright Super Girl. Be safe."

"Always." Ally hung up the phone and headed back to the agents waiting for her. "This seems to be an ongoing trend."

"And what's that?" Emily asked.

"You two. The friends who waited." Ally chuckled at the reference that she knew went right over their heads. The two shared a look before following Ally out of the door, it was just one of the many quirks of hers that endeared her to the team. "Garcia's running through the list of suspects we gave her and as soon as this is set up in the model home, she'll be running through this too." Emily nodded her understanding and the two watched as Morgan pulled out his phone.

"Hey Baby Girl, I need you to do something for me."

"Anything my Chocolate Waterfall."

"From the suspects that are left, see if any of them have a tech background. Enough that they would know how to modify a remote garage door opener."

"Done, love ya, ciao." Seeing the incredulous looks from the two agents beside him, he explained his reasoning.

"Marjorie West's family was out of town. Jill Long was strangled in her laundry room while her family was camping outside. Right here, the UnSub was able to travel around the entire house only to find a room where somebody was awake. Does that sound like somebody just randomly checking garage doors to see if the fifth one will open?" Emily was stopped from responding by her phone ringing.

"Prentiss. We'll be right there." She hung up the phone and slipped it back into her pocket. "That was Rossi, he wants us at the church, they're setting up a community meeting." The three dropped the computer off at the model home before moving to the church.

"We just came from the last victim's home. The UnSub came in through the garage." Morgan started.

"Maybe he used a remote garage door opener made universal." Ally added.

"The police are saying it's random, but how could you randomly find a woman so vulnerable? Garcia's going over background's again, trying to find anyone with tech experience." Emily stated.

"She's also doing a full workup on Brinkman and Ruiz. They have that kind of access." Hotch told the agents. "Has anyone seen Ruiz?"

"I saw him a while ago." Rossi answered, scanning the church for any sign of the suspicious detective.

"He said he was filling out forms but I haven't seen him since." Reid glanced at Hotch before looking away.

"We need to ask for help in a different way. Tell people that we're looking for someone who might've seen something rather than someone who did something. No one thinks their friends or neighbours are capable of something like this. Let's get started." Hotch commanded. Hotch conducted the meeting with Prentiss, Seaver, and Morgan stationed at the front and Rossi, Spencer, and Ally spread out around the attendees, profiling each of them.

Spencer found his gaze constantly jumping back to Ally, he could clearly tell that something was bothering her. He had thought that by now she would've been able to deal with whatever was bothering her but from the looks of it, she was doing the opposite. The bags under her eyes were getting darker, she was putting less care into her appearance, and she was trying to find a reason to smile almost everywhere as if she was thought that the more she smiled, the less she would have to worry about. He was just eternally grateful that they were going to get a break soon. Maybe he could get her to agree to coming over, have a Star Trek marathon. Honestly, he would do virtually anything just to help take off as much stress as possible.

The meeting ended soon enough and with nobody standing out in the crowd the team moved on to the suspects that didn't show up.

"What've we got?" Hotch asked, coming over to stand with the rest of the team where all of the files were laid out.

"We're going to start with the people that didn't show and cross reference them with families that don't have any pets." Emily answered.

"No pets?" Hotch questioned incredulously.

"I remember I wasn't allowed to have a dog, or a pet of any kind." Seaver explained. "It was more than a rule, it was a big problem for us. I'm sorry I couldn't point him out."

"We don't expect you to point him out. We're hoping you can help us once we have things narrowed down." Hotch reasoned.

"Guys, of the 64 suspects, 18 of them didn't show up." Spencer looked around at everyone, lingering briefly at Ally.

"Prentiss, take Ashley back to the model home. Go through the 18 names and add the pet information. Garcia's working on technical background so let's get her the 18 names." Morgan headed out to call Garcia. "Ruiz never got here?"

"No and neither did the security chief." Rossi responded.

"Okay, then as far as I'm concerned 20 people didn't show today." Ally nodded her understanding.

"Agent Hotchner," a police officer came forward. "Detective Ruiz would like you to meet him at Main and Oak, there's been another murder." Rossi and Hotch quickly left to get to the car. Seeing his chance to talk to Ally, Spencer reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Spence?"

"Are you okay?" He searched her eyes for any hidden emotion, reading her body language for any tell but she just smiled at his question.

"Peachy." She squeezed his hand in assurance. "Now, let's get Morgan and find out killer." Spencer noticed with surprise that she never let go of his hand.

"The UnSub's killed two nights in a row. That's a major escalation." Spencer informed once he got back from taking a look at the crime scene.

"Not to mention the change in victim. He typically goes for a blond mother, this was a brunette without any children. He's looking for a quick fix." Ally commented.

"We need to start over." Hotch told them.

"What do you mean?" Morgan asked.

"We need to go back to the beginning. The local PD gave us 64 out of the 71 possible males. I think we need to throw that out and start with the original 71."

"What about Ruiz?" Spencer questioned.

"He's definitely on the list." Rossi responded in a slightly patronizing tone. The four of them walked into an empty house but didn't think much of it so long as both Prentiss and Seaver were gone.

"Reid, where's the list of the people that didn't make the meeting?" Morgan asked walking directly to the table.

"Right here." Spencer pulled the list out of his messenger bag while heading straight for the files at the table.

"We need to look at all 71 files. We need to eliminate suspects our way not theirs." Hotch instructed. Ally looked up at the sound of a door closing to see Det. Ruiz, she shared a snide look with Rossi before refocusing.

"Penny, you there?" Ally called into her phone.

"Fingers at the ready."

"Wait, there are only 67 files here. Where are the other four?" Spencer asked Det. Ruiz.

"One of them's me and the other three are the victims' husbands."

"Why would they automatically be cleared?" Morgan asked with and edge to his voice.

"Wouldn't they? I mean if you're going to check them you might as well check me." Ruiz laughed softly at that notion.

"We are." Det. Ruiz's smile immediately fell at Rossi's words.

"Detective, where are the missing files?" Hotch asked.

"Right over here." He brought the files over from a side table.

"Penny, we need you to run a few more names." Ally instructed.

"Phillip Long." Rossi called.

"Has no suspicions on his record, no arrests, and no technology either."

"Drew Jacobs." Rossi continued down the list.

"Had a couple of arrests for assault when he was younger. I'll get more to you in a sec. Is this the husband of the woman whose computer I went through?"

"Yeah." Morgan answered.

"She was really unhappy with him. She said that he was distant, that he left her alone at night."

"Yeah, wandering around outside." Ruiz commented.

"Outside?" Rossi stared at Ruiz for a long time.

"As a matter of fact, before his wife was killed he was my number one suspect."

"Wait, wait. He's an IT expert who travels the world."

"Alright, thanks Baby Girl." Ally took the cue and hung up the phone.

"What's going on?" Emily asked, Brinkman trailing behind her.

"There was another murder."

"What?"

"During the meeting."

"Wait, where's Seaver?" Ally asked Emily.

"She was supposed to wait here while I went with Brinkman to get files." Emily explained.

"Call her." Rossi said as he turned to Hotch but he was already one step ahead of Rossi, his phone was in his hand and he had just dialed Seaver's number.

"Ashley, where are you? Where are you? Can you get out of there? Ashley. Jacobs has her, she has no gun. Let's go." Everyone quickly shot to their cars and headed towards the Jacobs household.

"Prentiss, Morgan, Jordan, take the back. Make noise, let him know he's caught. It may be the only chance she's got." The three nodded before moving quickly to the back. Once they were at the door, Morgan slammed it open with a loud shout of "FBI!" trying to cause as much ruckus as they possibly could. Ally purposely knocked over a table while Prentiss slammed open a closet door. Soon they heard two gunshots and all three raced for the stairs with their guns aimed and at the ready. They were met by Rossi leading a little girl out and put two and two together to easily work out what happened upstairs. They met up with Spencer in the living room and deliberately avoided eye contact when Seaver came downstairs and walked out of the house.

The car ride to the airport was almost achingly quiet. Nobody really had anything to say, it had been a long day for all of them and it was easily reflected in their body language.

"I'm really digging that quiff by the way." Ally told Spencer, ruffling his hair a bit. Spencer smiled at her compliment and swatted her hand away before poking her side causing her to squeal. The other three started cracking up at the noise she made and wouldn't stop much to her chagrin.

On the plane ride home, Morgan and Reid passed out, Emily read a book, Hotch and Rossi had a deep discussion with Seaver, and Ally got a phone call.

"Agent Jordan."

"Now, now Super Girl, no need to be so formal with me." Ally smiled at the voice filtering through her phone.

"What's up Penny G? You usually don't call on the plane ride."

"I figured you wouldn't be coming back to the office today, it is exceptionally late after all."

"To be completely honest, I was planning not coming in for the next week at all."

"Like you would do that to us."

"Trust me when I say I would if I could but Strauss would have my head faster than we could blink and who knows how long she's wanted to do that."

"Did she ever tell you when you were going to be taken off this probation."

"I don't think she wants to take me off. She likes having someone who's expendable."

"Don't you dare say that about yourself." Garcia's mind had instantly jumped to Ally's time in Budapest at the word.

"Do accept my humblest apologies dear Master of All."

"I shall choose to ignore your sarcasm and instead graciously accept your apologies. Peasant." The two started laughing at that.

"So, how's Lover Boy?" Ally stopped moving in the private area that she had secluded herself to for a moment.

"Head over heels."

"See! I knew you would listen to me eventually."

"Not for me."

"Are you talking about Blondie?"

"You say that like it's derogatory."

"Mind you I did have that hair color at one point."

"Let's face it, he did always have a thing for blondes." She sighed at the thought. "Well Penny, I'm going to let you get back to your magical, mystical world."

"Okay, bye. Stay safe."

"Always." Garcia frowned at her computer screen. She had talked to Spencer earlier in the day and found out that he did in fact think that Seaver was pretty but there's no way he likes her more than Ally. Ally was Ally for Pete's sake. Sighing in frustration, Garcia decided that the only way these two would admit their feelings would be if they were forced to see it.

Ally sunk down in the plush chair across from Spencer. She was still surprised that he had yet to get a girlfriend. Sure, he had some odd mannerisms but that didn't make him any less lovable. With a sigh she remembered the pretty blond sitting not too far away. Checking the time, Ally groaned softly to herself. It had been at the very least a full day since she had gotten any sleep and that wasn't even very fulfilling sleep. She maxed maybe four hours before she woke up in a cold sweat remembering the faces of all the men and women that were shot down around her, dreaming of all the ways she could've saved them but didn't and this didn't happen occasionally, oh no, this happened _every single night_. She was running out of excuses to tell everybody else, so far Emily was the only one she had burdened with the truth and imagine what Emily was going through. '_God, she probably has so much shit flying around and then I just dumped everything of mine on her too. Stupid, stupid Ally.' _She thought to herself. The plane couldn't have landed soon enough._  
_

* * *

**For everybody wondering, a quiff is a type of hairstyle where the hair right above your forehead is styled to go up. It typically occurs naturally and I believe that Spencer's hair specifically in this episode represents a quiff rather well.**

**Not-Knowing-Is-Everything: Thank you so much for both the compliment and reading. I'm so happy you're enjoying this story. I literally just read your second review seconds before I posted this story and honestly, your support means so much. Thank you for such wonderful compliments and I sincerely hope I don't disappoint.**

**Guest: As much as I'd like to update more frequently, there _are_ more pressing things in my life than writing this story. Though I will try to push out as many chapters as I can before the week is out. **

**I really felt that I should include some sort of celebration for Spencer's birthday and seeing as how he's in love with Halloween, I thought it would make sense to put the two together.**


	6. Chapter 6

**School is about to start again and I'm painfully aware of the unfortunate assumption that I will not update very much, however I will try my hardest to get chapters out.**

**This isn't the typical chapter that I do in that there isn't an actual case here but I wouldn't necessarily consider this a filler chapter. I tried to hash out a couple of problem and flesh out a few others.**

**Also, for anyone who might've been wondering about Prentiss' birthday, I didn't forget I just didn't take her as a party-for-herself kind of gal.**

**Disclaimer: ********Criminal Minds belongs to The Mark Gordon Company, ABC Studios, and CBS Television Studios. I only own my OC and my plot.**

**********Episodes featured in this chapter: none**

* * *

December 20, 2010

Ally walked into her apartment after a very long day of Christmas shopping. So far, she had gotten almost everyone's present in order. The only gift she was missing was one for Spencer but she was determined to find the best present possible for him. Placing the bags next to the door, she walked into the kitchen for some water. She flipped the lights on before moving towards the fridge. Before she got there, however, she heard a noise from inside the living room. Grabbing the gun from the top shelf in a cupboard, Ally loaded it and walked slowly towards the noise. Turning in, she raised the gun only to be greeted by loud shouts of "Happy birthday!". A smile broke out on her face and she quickly disarmed the gun and put it off to the side.

"Happy birthday Super Girl." Garcia trotted up to her to pull her into a tight hug. Ally smiled her thank you and tried to push away the feeling of paranoia that had overcome her. Morgan attacked her next, even going so far as to pull her off the ground eliciting a few giggles from her. The hugs came easily until it got to Hotch but he surprised everyone by allowing Ally to pull him into a hug. Finally, she came to Spencer who was holding his arm as if in pain.

"Are you okay Spence?" He just smiled softly at her before opening his arms, not feeling confident enough to actually initiate the contact. Ally smiled into the hug and tightened her arms around the lanky man. The hug lasted for a few moments before the two pulled away, both with a slight tinge of red to their cheeks. Henry and Jack attacked her last, both jumping on her hard enough that she actually fell down. Will immediately came to the rescue and pulled the two off long enough that she could kneel and brace herself for the next onset of hugs. Smiling at the two, she glanced around the room and felt her heart clench and the fact that these people were willing to spend a Monday off awake.

The "party" quickly moved along, everyone mingling and telling stories about the holidays past and their plans for this one. Ally had situated herself on the couch between Rossi and Spencer with Henry on her lap while Jack ran around in a dance for Ally. Spencer had even relaxed enough to put his arm along the back of the couch. She noted with a smile that Spencer was wearing the replica of the 11th Doctor's bow tie that she had gotten him for his birthday. Jack suddenly jumped onto Ally again, forcing Henry to move over to Spencer's lap. Everyone smiled at the scene but Garcia saw the perfect opportunity and quickly snapped a picture of the couch. Garcia frowned at the thought that Rossi would still be in it but she felt like it would give her a better excuse to have it in her office if he was there too.

"Alright, time to eat!" Garcia shouted at the room and hustled into the kitchen where she had hidden all of the food.

"Is it just going to be cake again?" Jack asked Hotch, getting off Ally and moving to sit next to his father.

"Not this time kiddo." Rossi answered for him. "Garcia made dinner this time." He rolled his eyes at the groans. "I supervised."

"So long as it's not spaghetti, I'm game." Spencer nudged her with his knee causing her to mouth a 'what?' at him. Spencer opened his mouth to respond but he was cut off by Garcia barging in with the food in hand.

"Eggplant parmesan for you curious no-goers." Garcia told them before setting it down at the table. Surprisingly enough, the food was pretty good but everyone calked it up to Rossi's "supervision". The group hurried through the food and waited patiently for the cake. Spencer stood behind Ally and at Garcia's cue, covered her eyes with his hands. He could feel Ally's lips pull up into a smile and adopted one himself. After all of the candles were lit, Spencer lifted his hands and clapped and sang with the rest of the group when Ally went to blow out the candles. The cake was a miniature, edible version of the TARDIS from Doctor Who, complete with each Doctor lined up outside of it. Spencer was admittedly jealous of the cake but kept it to himself.

The celebration had started to wind down when Garcia made the proclamation that it was to be a girl's night and everyone had to stay over.

"Can I join?" Morgan asked with a sly smile.

"Only if you suddenly turned into a girl." Emily quipped, moving to take Henry from JJ so that she could get some cake too.

"I just might."

"You do not understand the implications of that statement, do you?" Ally cackled from the couch, still tucked in between Spencer and Rossi.

"Now, now Miss Thing, I'm sure you don't want me to prove how much of a man I am." Morgan turned towards her, ignoring the look that Spencer was giving him.

"I'm fairly positive my eyes would burn out of my head if you tried." Ally hid her face behind her hands.

"Daddy, what are they talking about?" Jack's innocent voice got everyone's attention.

"Just grown up stuff. I think it's time that we headed out anyways, it's way past your bedtime." Hotch grabbed both of their coats and moved over to the door while Jack hugged everyone good night.

"Rossi, shouldn't you get going too? I mean, it is past your bedtime after all." Ally ducked away from the swatting hand that was coming at her, pushing her closer to Spencer.

"Just for that, I _will_ leave."

"Yeah, _that's_ the reason why." This time Rossi did hit her. Rossi moved to stand beside Hotch at the door still waiting on Jack to finish his rounds. Once Jack got through everyone (giving an especially long hug to Ally) the two adults waved their goodbyes and took off into the night.

"We should probably get goin' too, Henry's practically dead on his fee'." Will announced roughly five minutes after the trio had left. JJ nodded, got Henry prepped for going outside, and hugged everyone goodnight, same as Jack. Will helped her with her coat before pulling Ally into a quick hug and waving at the rest of them. Morgan checked his watch and opened his mouth to say something.

"Don't even think about it sweet cheeks." Garcia said, snuggling further into his side on the loveseat.

"Wouldn't even dream of it." Morgan pecked the top of her head. Garcia suddenly bounded from the seat muttering something about entertainment. By this time Emily had found herself a place to sit on the recliner and Ally had stretched her legs along the couch, leaning into Spencer. With his permission of course. Looking up from his watch, Spencer met Morgan's eyes and was greeted by a wink. He quickly glanced anywhere other than at the man, wincing slightly from a dull pain that had started at the back of his head. Ally noticed the jerky movement and quickly looked up to make sure everything was okay, concern knitting her brows.

Before anything could be said on the matter, however, Garcia came back in with one arm filled with movies and the other carrying a bowl of popcorn.

"Crappy horror movie time." She announced with a smile, raising an eyebrow at Ally's position on the couch.

Boy was she going to get an earful of squeals from Garcia when this was all over. Three hours later, the boys had been kicked out of the apartment, laughing a bit at Garcia's theatrics. The three settled in on one couch in front of the TV and literally spent the entire night gossiping about other members of the Bureau and watching the worst horror movies they could get their hands on. All in all, it had been one of the most fantastic birthdays Ally had ever had.

* * *

January 10, 2011

The team had gotten together a couple of more times after that. Once for a Christmas party thrown by JJ and Will and a second time at a New Year's party thrown specifically by Jack. Everyone had smiled at the little handmade cards that Jack had handed out as invitations. Unfortunately, the break had to end sooner for some, namely Hotch and Ally. Strauss had called the two into a meeting, wanting to get as much information as she possibly could out of the two.

"Agent Jordan, Agent Hotchner, I called the two of you here today because of the issue of your probation." Strauss gave Ally a pointed look but said nothing after that. Ally started to twitch a bit in her seat, the increasing discomfort she was feeling was clearly visible to a trained eye like Hotch's but was thankfully undetectable by Strauss. Surprisingly enough, Ally had yet to look away from Strauss, maintaining eye contact even through her fidgeting.

"What about Agent Jordan's probation ma'am?" Hotch asked, trying to ease the tension for Ally.

"Well, since you asked Agent Hotchner," Ally rolled her eyes at that. "I don't believe she should be on it. Not at all." Ally's eyes widened significantly at that. "Oh no, I don't think she should be in a unit at all."

"Ma'am-" Strauss quickly cut off Hotch's statement.

"No Aaron. She deliberately went over my head, made me look like a fool to get assigned to that detail. And then the situation's compromised. Think about how that makes me look."

"With all due respect ma'am," Hotch had to bite down the smirk at Ally's immediate fight response. "I was approached by the Director of the FBI, a position which I'm more than positive outranks Section Chief. I in no way went over your head, if anyone did that it would be Director Mueller. Also, you were in no way related to the mission to take down Pichtas. It couldn't possibly reflect poorly on you, not to mention the fact that we _did_ apprehend him which is far more important than one mistake."

"That 'one mistake' cost you the mission Agent Jordan."

"No ma'am, it didn't. Though the mistake may have ended with some casualties, we caught Pichtas. The mission never ended, it was only compromised."

"Those casualties came at your hand, who's to say you wouldn't do it again. Out there, with the BAU." Ally paled at the thought, the memories coming back in an instant except this time the faces were replaced by her team members.

"Ma'am, you and I both know that Agent Jordan is exceptional at what she does and we also know that it was not _her_ fault that the mission was compromised. It's cruel to attempt to place that burden on her shoulders. As her Unit Chief, I would have come to you with any complaints if Agent Jordan had shown any sign of psychological disturbance out on the field but she hasn't. Also, as Section Chief, you technically do not have permission to dismiss Agent Jordan from the FBI, only the Director has that ability." Hotch glanced at Ally briefly before making and holding eye contact with Strauss.

"You never were good at being hard on anyone Aaron." Strauss attempted to give him a patronizing look.

"My team hasn't given me any reason to be." Hotch leveled her with a speculative look, one that Strauss knew well. Before he could profile her, she quickly ended the meeting but not without throwing a dirty look at Ally. He led her to his office, having her sit down so that they could talk.

"Thank you so much for that Hotch." She shot him an appreciative smile.

"You haven't done anything to deserve otherwise." Hotch answered in a soft(er than usual) voice. "But I do have some questions." At Ally's hesitant nod he continued. "What are you not saying about that mission?"

Ally legitimately had no idea how she was meant to respond to that question. There was a lot she hadn't told the team but that mainly revolved around her feelings the entire time. Any practical information she had already detailed to everybody.

"I've told you everything."

"I meant about you personally. There was obviously something that happened to you. You stopped putting anything into your coffee, your eyes are starting to sink in, no matter how much makeup you put on we can all see the bags, you fidget more, you constantly send looks over your shoulder, you smile more but you mean it less - as if you're trying to get everyone else to believe that you're perfectly fine, you constantly get a far-away look in your eyes." Ally took in a shuddering breath at the information Hotch had just laid at her feet.

"There was just a lot of stress involved, it was a long five months, a lot of that paranoia hasn't really been expelled yet." At Hotch's inquisitive stare, she kept going. "And then there's the whole survivor's guilt thing. I mean, I have no other explanation for it. I always think about why I didn't try harder, why I didn't fight for them like how I fought for myself." She looked down trying to blink back the tears but every time her eyes closed, she could see the faces of the men and women that she had left behind. She thought of their families, how heartbroken they probably were at the news of their loved ones' deaths. Her heart clenched over and over again at the thought.

"Agent Jordan, you are in no way responsible for the deaths of those people." Hotch's voice interrupted her reverie. "What happened has happened, there's no way to change the past but you do have to work through it. I remember you once told me that it gets better, remember that. It'll help you get through this." His small, encouraging smile at the end floored Ally. "You should probably get going, Garcia won't be happy about being left." Nodding, she headed for the door.

"Hotch." She called once she got there, making eye contact she said the most sincere thank you she had spoken to date.

* * *

**Thank you to everyone out there favoriting and following, I see you. But really, I do get an e-mail telling me who's doing what and I'm massively appreciative of y'all. **

**Thank you for reading. **


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